Túcume is a pre-Hispanic site in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, south of the La Leche River on a plain around La Raya Mountain. It covers an area of over and encompassing 26 major pyramids and mounds.Shimada, Izumi. "The Late Prehispanic Coastal States." In The Inca World: The Development of Pre-Columbian Peru, edited by L. Laurencich Minelli, pp.49-82. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000 The area is referred to as "Pirámides de Túcume" (en: ''pyramids of Túcume'') or Purgatorio (

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

) by local people. The site was a major regional center, maybe even the capital of the successive occupations of the area by the Lambayeque/ Sican (800-1350 AD), Chimú (1350–1450 AD) and

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

(1450–1532 AD). Local

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

healers ('' curanderos'') invoke power of Tucume and La Raya Mountain in their rituals, and local people fear these sites. The vast plains of Túcume are part of the

Lambayeque region Lambayeque () is a Administrative divisions of Peru, department and Regional Government of Lambayeque, region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche culture, Moche and Chimú culture, Chimú historical past. The region's name originates ...

, the largest valley of the north coast of Peru. The Lambayeque Valley is the site of scores of natural and man-made waterways and is also a region containing the remains of about 250 decaying and heavily eroded mud-brick

pyramids A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...

References

External links

Túcume Archaeological Site
Pyramids in Peru Archaeological sites in the Department of Lambayeque Archaeological sites in Peru Tourist attractions in the Department of Lambayeque {{Peru-archaeology-stub

See also

References

External links