Temple of Doom--秘鲁恐怖的历史纪录

Temple of Doom



The Walls Speak
Photograph by Ira Block
The hues of an ancient battle reemerge under the careful hand of conservator Segundo Losada. This mural adorns the walls of Huaca Cao Viejo, a huaca, or pyramid, in a 1,900-year-old complex of ruins known as El Brujo. This thriving religious center was built by the Moche people, who dominated Peru‘s northern coast from A.D. 100 to 800. At El Brujo they performed rituals, buried their prominent dead, and practiced grisly human sacrifice. Archaeologists have not found rich tombs here, like those found 80 miles (130 kilometers) north at the Moche site of Sipán. But they have uncovered elaborate murals, friezes, and reliefs that shed new light on this relatively unknown people.


Camera: Canon EOS 1V
Film Type: Fujichrome Provia 100
Lens: 70-200mm lens @ 135mm
Speed and F-Stop: 1/125 @ f/5.6Weather Conditions: Open shade with covering
Time of Day: Unrecorded
Lighting Techniques: I used additional strobes on the wall to highlight the artwork.



Hidden Identity
Photograph by Ira Block
A king, a warrior, a god, or a planet? Scholars are still trying to interpret the significance of this figure, who wears what looks like a five-pointed crown and appears repeatedly on an elaborate mural at Huaca Cao Viejo, El Brujo‘s largest pyramid. Peruvian archaeologist Régulo Franco theorizes that this figure personifies the planet Venus, at times one of the brightest objects in the Peruvian night sky. He believes Moche priests could have used the mural as a ceremonial calendar, which told them when to hold rituals based on the position of stars and planets.


Camera: Canon EOS 1V
Film Type: Fujichrome  Velvia 50
Lens: 100mm macro
Speed and F-Stop: 1/125 @ f/8Weather Conditions: Indoors
Time of Day: Unrecorded
Lighting Techniques: I used strobes to light the artwork.



Captives in the Spotlight
Photograph by Ira Block
Frozen in clay—and inspiring dread—life-size depictions of naked men bound with ropes around their necks trudge across a wall of Huaca Cao Viejo‘s ceremonial plaza. Scholars have found similar portrayals on Moche ceramics, but don‘t know whether the captives were sacrificial victims chosen from among locals or prisoners taken during battle. Human bones showing signs of torture have been found incorporated into this frieze, a hint at the horrors that occurred here.


Camera: Canon EOS 1V
Film Type: Fujichrome Velvia 50
Lens: 28-70mm @ 70mm
Speed and F-Stop: 1/8 @ f/5.6Weather Conditions: Overcast
Time of Day: Dusk
Lighting Techniques: I combined the last of the daylight with tungsten lights on the murals.



Ancient Ornament
Photograph by Ira Block
A mystery in mother of pearl, this ornate disk may have served as a sacred amulet or merely as a decorative bauble. Whatever its purpose, archaeologist Régulo Franco is most intrigued by its outer ring of bird heads, a few of which still have eyes made from tiny chips of spondylus shell. "These might be seabirds," he says, "and the circular pattern could relate to waves on the ocean." Franco believes the artisan who made it lived between A.D. 800 to 900, part of a transitional culture that came after the demise of the Moche. Such finds, he says, indicate that later peoples revered the site and may have regarded the pyramids at El Brujo as sacred.


Camera: Canon EOS 1V
Film Type: Fujichrome Tungsten 64
Lens: 100mm macro
Speed and F-Stop: 4 seconds @ f/11Weather Conditions: Indoors
Time of Day: Unrecorded
Lighting Techniques: I used multiple tungsten lights.



Threads of History
Photograph by Ira Block
Remarkable survivors, these woven medallions defied great odds. Found at Huaca Cao Viejo, they date from the Lambayeque people (A.D. 900 to 1000), a major culture that dominated the area around El Brujo after the Moche. These faces evoke the main Lambayeque deity, Naylamp, known for his winged eyes. They also represent a rare find. Scholars believe that a series of El Niños caused major flooding that ruined Moche farming and fishing communities and eventually drove them from the region aroundA.D. 800. Periods of flooding continued through the centuries. So how did these delicate textiles survive? They stayed dry buried below thick layers of clay and adobe bricks, which preserved these gifts for history.


Camera: Canon EOS 1v
Film Type: Fujichrome Tungsten 64
Lens: 100mm macro
Speed and F-Stop: Two seconds @  f/11Weather Conditions: Indoors
Time of Day: Unrecorded
Lighting Techniques:  I used multiple tungsten lights with snoots.