Walter Alva Fondo del Embajador 2011 (cropped)

Walter Alva (born 28 June 1951), full name is Walter Alva Alva, is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, specializing in the study and excavation of the prehistoric

Moche culture The Moche civilization (; alternatively, the Mochica culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto-Chimú) flourished in northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru from about 100 to 700 AD during the Regional Development Epoch. ...

. Alva is noted for two major finds: the tomb of the Lord of Sipan and related people in 1987, and 2007.

Early life and education

Alva was born on 28 June 1951 in

Contumazá Province Contumazá Province is a province of the Cajamarca Region in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_typ ...

. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Career

Alva has worked for years at the Bruning Archeological Museum in

Lambayeque, Peru Lambayeque is a city on the coast of northern Peru and capital of the homonymous district and province in the department of Lambayeque. It is located 4.7 km from the city of Chiclayo and 13 km from the Pacific Ocean. It is an important cultural ...

. He advanced to the post of director there.

Major finds

Lord of Sipan

In 1987, Alva was called by police to investigate a site at

Sipán Huaca Rajada, also known as Sipán, is a Moche archaeological site in northern Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, that is famous for the tomb of ''Lord of Sipán'' (El Señor de Sipán), excavated by Walter Alva and his wife Susana Meneses beginni ...

, where ''huaqueros'' (grave robbers) had stolen artifacts from an archaeological site. Despite being ill with

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, he made the trip. The robbers had discovered a crypt of a lord, filled with jewels and gold, and Alva knew it was significant. Alva did most of the excavating without delay, as he was concerned that robbers might come back and cause more damage. As a result, he started digging without any funding or the support of the area police, with matters made worse as the result of the primary robber being killed by police. After further digging, Alva found, among other things, the undamaged body of a Moche lord. From these finds, he and other scholars were able to determine that

Huaca Rajada Huaca Rajada, also known as Sipán, is a Moche archaeological site in northern Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, that is famous for the tomb of ''Lord of Sipán'' (El Señor de Sipán), excavated by Walter Alva and his wife Susana Meneses beginni ...

, a group of three pyramids once thought to belong to the later

Chimú culture Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture. The culture arose about 900 AD, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fifty y ...

, were a part of

. The findings were later described by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

as the richest intact pre-Columbian tomb in the Western Hemisphere. During many of these years, Alva was the director of the Bruning Archaeological Museum in

Murals at Ventarron

In 2007, Alva discovered murals at a 4,000-year-old Peruvian temple in

Ventarron Ventarrón is the site of a 4,500-year-old temple with painted murals, which was excavated in Peru in 2007 near Chiclayo, in the Lambayeque region on the northern coast. The site was inhabited by the Early Cupisnique, Cupisnique, Chavin and Moc ...

. The murals, showing a deer caught in a net, are considered the oldest murals in the Americas. Alva determined their age by the process of

carbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

. The construction material that was used at the temple was not primitive. As a result, Alva was able to show that the civilization was able to spread farther than originally thought. He worked on the dig with his son Ignacio, who is also an archaeologist.

Legacy and honors

* 1990, the Orden del Sol del Peru was awarded to Alva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alva, Walter Living people Peruvian archaeologists 1951 births People from Contumazá Province 20th-century archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists Recipients of the Order of the Sun of Peru