The architecture of Sipán includes these two large and eroded pyramids, built of adobe mud bricks. Over the centuries, repeated exposure to El Niño Southern Oscillation climatic events has damaged the pyramids. A 50-centimeter thick layer in a tomb near the East Pyramid attests to a massive ENSO event that occurred during the Moche occupation and damaged the pyramid. Nevertheless, as you can see in this photograph, the pyramids are still quite imposing structures.
Researchers believe that although the sometimes harsh climate has worn the appearance of the pyramids to soft-edged hills, the detailed architecture of the adobes may be revealed with additional excavation. If so, they need to be preserved from further damage. Similar work has been effected at the Lima site of Huaca Pucllana, which revealed intricately patterned walls that researcher Antonio Aimi describes as similar to the moire patterns of an Escher print.
Not much is known about the pyramids at Sipán, in part because the excavations of the royal tombs discovered there have taken the lion's share of the professional focus. Studies at sites such as Huaca de la Luna, however, suggest that the structures may consist of a series of platform mounds and walled plazas.
Researchers believe that although the sometimes harsh climate has worn the appearance of the pyramids to soft-edged hills, the detailed architecture of the adobes may be revealed with additional excavation. If so, they need to be preserved from further damage. Similar work has been effected at the Lima site of Huaca Pucllana, which revealed intricately patterned walls that researcher Antonio Aimi describes as similar to the moire patterns of an Escher print.
Not much is known about the pyramids at Sipán, in part because the excavations of the royal tombs discovered there have taken the lion's share of the professional focus. Studies at sites such as Huaca de la Luna, however, suggest that the structures may consist of a series of platform mounds and walled plazas.
More Information
- El Niño Southern Oscillation
- El Niño /La Niña: Nature's Vicious Cycle, from National Geographic
- Huaca Pucllana
