In the 1930s, a Swedish diplomat smuggled dozens of 2,000-year-old textiles out of Peru. Now the Swedish city of Gothenburg is returning the entire collection. The most spectacular example, known as the Shroud of Gothenburg, depicts a shaman flying through the air, animals as diverse as condors and shrimp, and crops such as corn, peanuts, and beans. Pontifical Catholic University of Peru archaeologist Krzysztof Makowski points out that figures on the edge of the piece seem to mark the 365 days of the solar year. “The decorations are our main source for decoding prehistoric Andean religious beliefs,” he says. “Textiles were the most technologically complex artifacts in Andean prehistory.”
An Ancient Andean Homecoming
Recommended Articles
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Monuments to Youth
-
Features September/October 2014
Erbil Revealed
How the first excavations in an ancient city are supporting its claim as the oldest continuously inhabited place in the world
(Courtesy and Copyright Golden Eagle Global, Kurdistan, Iraq) -
Features September/October 2014
Castaways
Illegally enslaved and then marooned on remote Tromelin Island for fifteen years, with only archaeology to tell their story
(Richard Bouhet/ Getty Images) -
Letter from the Bronx September/October 2014
The Past Becomes Present
A collection of objects left behind in a New York City neighborhood connects students with the lives of people who were contemporary with their great-great-great-grandparents
(Courtesy Celia J. Bergoffen Ph.D. R.P.A.) -
Artifacts September/October 2014
Silver Viking Figurine
(Courtesy Claus Feveile/Østfyns Museum)