El Brujo
El Brujo is located at 60 kilometers north of Trujillo. It is close to Santiago de Cao, in the Chicama River valley, close to the sea.
El Brujo is
considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites on the
north coast. It served as a ceremonial
center and meeting place for several cultures, starting with the
pre-ceramic cultures and culminating with the Moche.
The current archeological site of El Brujo covers a band 2 kilometers long
and is composed consists of a long wall with
high-relief figures, and three pyramidal temples, Huaca Prieta,
Huaca Corta and Huaca Cao.
In the Chicama Valley there are remnants of a large a pre-Hispanic irrigation system, parts of which are still used nowadays.
The Huaca Cao Viejo, one of the most interesting site to the public, is a badly damaged stepped pyramid with colorful high-relieves dating back to the Moche culture (100 BC-650 AD), and was most likely used for religious rituals.
The pyramid currently rises about 30 meters
(100 feet) above the surrounding landscape and with a square base of
approximately 10000 square meters. This pyramid is nowadays
generally called "El Brujo" ("The Sorcerer"). It is consider to be places of power
for the area shamans (also called “brujos” or
“curanderos”) to hold some of their healing ceremonies.
The famous mural ornamentation was discovered accidentally by local grave looters and was reported to the scientific community in 1990
The site was only recently opened to the public (2006). Inside you'll encounter polychromatic relieves that display scenes from Mochica life. Among these archaeological attractions, you'll find depictions of prisoners, warriors, dancers and human sacrifices, in addition to well-preserved remains that highlight the burial practices implemented by Mochican royalty. Its two walls decorated with small high-relief iconographic designs. It is believed that the ceiling, which disintegrated some time in the past, was painted with similar decorations.
The mummy of a tattoed woman leader was discovered here, but is not
hosted on the site. 
- Links
- Moche Foodways Archaeological Project
- Magdalena de Cao Viejo Project Web Site
- ElBrujoPeru Xanga Site
- http://www.research.ibm.com/peru/
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