Revash
Encyclopedia
The Revash funerary
complex is located in Peru
's Santo Tomás District, part of Luya Province
, approximately 60 km to the south of Chachapoyas
, the capital of the Amazonas Region
. At an altitude of 2,800 m above sea level, the funeral buildings are located in the calcareous
rock formation of Cerro Carbón, located in the margin left side of the vale of Alto Utcubamba
. It borders towards the southeast on the San José de Laumar River, there being located between both a hillside of slightly marked slope, crossed by the bridle path that there leads towards the towns of San Salvador (located to use 3 km towards the south) and San Bartolo (located approximately to 1.2 km towards the south of the funeral complex).
of Peru
. Last century Charles Wiener
discerned some mausoleum
s of Utcubamba
: those of Revash in Santo Tomás, that later were studied by the archaeologists Henry and Paule Reichlen in relation to its content, since the roof of one of these mausoleum
s had collapsed covering and protecting simultaneously the cultural remains. By its part, the Antisuyo expeditions of the Amazon Archaeology Institute, in addition to re-visiting the well-known places managed to identify, between 1983 and 1986, diverse groups of undiscovered mausoleum
s that were documented thoroughly, like the ones in Ochín and many others in the surroundings of Revash. Other groups of sarcofagi
also exist in La Petaca (Leimebamba
); these ones offer some peculiarities opposite to previously mentioned, since they appear in cliffs like tiny houses stuck to the rock and its walls were not rendered in general as in the case of the mausoleum
s previously described.
Revash's funeral mansions are located in line, on the narrow hall shaped by the cavity that was excavated in the rocky wall of an imposing canyon
. They remain almost intact. But the mummies
located in there, with their coverings and their belongings, were pillaged long time ago, by rodent
s and also by the man's hand.
The mausoleum
s resemble small housings
and conglomerates of the same ones, forming miniature "villages". For this circumstance and for their emplacement in stacks
, Revash's funeral houses show a curious similarity with the cliff-houses of Colorado
. But these resemblances are only accidental and the function that was corresponding to both was also different.
It can be though that the mausoleum
s that occupy this region were constructed copying housings
, that is to say, they would be part of replies of not funeral architecture
of those times, but of which there's no track nowadays. The mausoleum
s, on the contrary, have survived thanks to the cave that shelters them and protected from the water, and from the man because of its isolation and access difficulty.
Revash's mausoleums were not used individually, judging by the osseous
remains still present in tomb
s and that have not been announced yet. For this reason, it is thought that the mausoleum
s were collective residences, destined to bury prestigious and powerful deceased.
The sloping roofs, of two waters and of only one fall are purely symbolic, since they were protected by the cave, they didn't have to support neither rain nor the sun. For the same reason, it was enough to imitate them, constructing them with a mud
cake, and it was supported by sticks
and reeds
shaping in this way a form of quincha
.
The walls of the mausoleum
s were raised by stones placed on mud mortar
. They have a rectangular floor and have one and two floors. They do not have a frontal door of access; a person entered them by side doors. They are often sideways attached to dividing walls
, or use in fact a common wall. The back side lacks of a wall, since the mausoleum
s were constructed closer to a rock, which makes itself a wall in this way.
Revash's funeral houses present cornice
s and their walls turn out to be colored with figures; in other cases, the motives are excisos. It predominates over the color red, color with which felines
, South American camelids
, people, two-color circles and other images difficult to define were represented.
The painted figures spread on sectors that belongs to the rocky walls of the cave. Their clear affiliation to the mausoleum
s, relatively late, as those of Revash, must warn the researchers that not all the "cave painting
s", or rock paintings, are necessarily attributable to preagricultural millennial societies.
The walls
of the mausoleum
s, also present a type of decoration based on excisions. Their symbolic content is still unknown. It is constituted by representations in shape of a T
, cross
es and rectangle
s. The symbol
s in cross
remind for their form and execution to those that were used the coast
architecture
of Virú
.
The cruciform motives are identical to those of the side walls on the church in La Jalca
, which, according to the local tradition, would have been raised by the mythical Juan Oso, or "small bear", fruit of the relationship between a bear
and a peasant kidnapped by the animal.
The intimate affiliation of the cruciform
symbol
in the church of La Jalca
allows to infer that their builders preserved some archaeological walls
, probably for the fact that these were going to be decorated by the maximum emblem
of Christianity
.
The mausoleum
s of Chachapoyas
do not present Inca cultural influences, but they are relatively late in the chronological chart of Peruvian archaeology, as it was already estimated by the married couple Reichlen (1950), they might date of the 14th century A.C. They are connected, certainly, with the funeral architecture
known like chullpa
, of wide diffusion in the ancient Peru
during the period Tiahuanaco
-Huari
(around 1000 A.C.)
Peru°N date=June 2009°W
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
complex is located in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
's Santo Tomás District, part of Luya Province
Luya Province
Luya is located in the south and west part of the department of Amazonas in Peru. Its territory, which partly is ceja de selva, is crossed by branches of the Cordillera Central and the Oriental of the Andes, being rasped by deep streams, high pampas and snowed summit...
, approximately 60 km to the south of Chachapoyas
Chachapoyas, Peru
In this part of Peru, located in the eyebrow of the jungle, the climate is subtropical highland, described by the Köppen climate classification as Cwb, with an average temperature of 18 °C and an average relative humidity of 74 percent. However, in some areas the temperature can drop to 2 °C....
, the capital of the Amazonas Region
Amazonas Region
Amazonas is a department of northern Peru bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, Cajamarca Department on the west, La Libertad Department on the south, and Loreto Department and San Martín Department on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas....
. At an altitude of 2,800 m above sea level, the funeral buildings are located in the calcareous
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
rock formation of Cerro Carbón, located in the margin left side of the vale of Alto Utcubamba
Valle del Utcubamba
The Valle del Utcubamba develops longitudinally up to the Marañon River, being the principal center of production and of location of human groups....
. It borders towards the southeast on the San José de Laumar River, there being located between both a hillside of slightly marked slope, crossed by the bridle path that there leads towards the towns of San Salvador (located to use 3 km towards the south) and San Bartolo (located approximately to 1.2 km towards the south of the funeral complex).
Revash's mausoleums
Revash's mausoleums are some architectonical rests found in the Amazonas RegionAmazonas Region
Amazonas is a department of northern Peru bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, Cajamarca Department on the west, La Libertad Department on the south, and Loreto Department and San Martín Department on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas....
of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Last century Charles Wiener
Charles Wiener
Charles Wiener was an Austrian-French scientist-explorer. Born in Vienna, he is perhaps best known as the explorer who traveled extensively in Peru, climbed the Illimani and came close to re-discovering Machu Picchu.-Biography:...
discerned some mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s of Utcubamba
Utcubamba Province
Utcubamba is one of seven provinces of the Amazonas Region, Peru. It was created by Law#-23843 on May 30, 1984. Its capital is Bagua Grande and its principal attraction is the Touristic Corridor of Utcubamba where the valley becomes notably closer forming "the canyon of Utcubamba". These conditions...
: those of Revash in Santo Tomás, that later were studied by the archaeologists Henry and Paule Reichlen in relation to its content, since the roof of one of these mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s had collapsed covering and protecting simultaneously the cultural remains. By its part, the Antisuyo expeditions of the Amazon Archaeology Institute, in addition to re-visiting the well-known places managed to identify, between 1983 and 1986, diverse groups of undiscovered mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s that were documented thoroughly, like the ones in Ochín and many others in the surroundings of Revash. Other groups of sarcofagi
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
also exist in La Petaca (Leimebamba
Leimebamba District
Leimebamba is a district of the province of Chachapoyas. It is located in the northern Peruvian department of Amazonas, in the valley of the Utcubamba River, about 60 kilometers south of Chachapoyas. Leimebamba is at approximately 2,000 meters above sea level, and the area is warm with a lush...
); these ones offer some peculiarities opposite to previously mentioned, since they appear in cliffs like tiny houses stuck to the rock and its walls were not rendered in general as in the case of the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s previously described.
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
. They remain almost intact. But the mummies
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
located in there, with their coverings and their belongings, were pillaged long time ago, by rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s and also by the man's hand.
The mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s resemble small housings
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
and conglomerates of the same ones, forming miniature "villages". For this circumstance and for their emplacement in stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
, Revash's funeral houses show a curious similarity with the cliff-houses of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. But these resemblances are only accidental and the function that was corresponding to both was also different.
It can be though that the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s that occupy this region were constructed copying housings
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, that is to say, they would be part of replies of not funeral architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
of those times, but of which there's no track nowadays. The mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s, on the contrary, have survived thanks to the cave that shelters them and protected from the water, and from the man because of its isolation and access difficulty.
Revash's mausoleums were not used individually, judging by the osseous
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
remains still present in tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
s and that have not been announced yet. For this reason, it is thought that the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s were collective residences, destined to bury prestigious and powerful deceased.
The sloping roofs, of two waters and of only one fall are purely symbolic, since they were protected by the cave, they didn't have to support neither rain nor the sun. For the same reason, it was enough to imitate them, constructing them with a mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
cake, and it was supported by sticks
Branch
A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...
and reeds
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
shaping in this way a form of quincha
Quincha
Quincha is a traditional construction system that uses, fundamentally, wood and cane or giant reed forming an earthquake-proof framework that is covered in mud and plaster....
.
The walls of the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s were raised by stones placed on mud mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
. They have a rectangular floor and have one and two floors. They do not have a frontal door of access; a person entered them by side doors. They are often sideways attached to dividing walls
Walls
- Other uses :*Wall's , a company that makes ice cream*Wall's sausages, a British sausage brand*Walls, an episode of Power Rangers S.P.D.- Music :*Walls EP, a 2005 album by The Red Paintings*Walls , 2007...
, or use in fact a common wall. The back side lacks of a wall, since the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s were constructed closer to a rock, which makes itself a wall in this way.
Revash's funeral houses present cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s and their walls turn out to be colored with figures; in other cases, the motives are excisos. It predominates over the color red, color with which felines
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
, South American camelids
Lama (genus)
Lama is the modern genus name for two South American camelids, the wild guanaco and the domesticated llama. This genus is closely allied to the wild vicuña and domesticated alpaca of the genus Vicugna. Before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, llamas and alpacas were the only domesticated...
, people, two-color circles and other images difficult to define were represented.
The painted figures spread on sectors that belongs to the rocky walls of the cave. Their clear affiliation to the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s, relatively late, as those of Revash, must warn the researchers that not all the "cave painting
Cave painting
Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
s", or rock paintings, are necessarily attributable to preagricultural millennial societies.
The walls
Walls
- Other uses :*Wall's , a company that makes ice cream*Wall's sausages, a British sausage brand*Walls, an episode of Power Rangers S.P.D.- Music :*Walls EP, a 2005 album by The Red Paintings*Walls , 2007...
of the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s, also present a type of decoration based on excisions. Their symbolic content is still unknown. It is constituted by representations in shape of a T
T
T is the 20th letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is the most commonly used consonant and the second most common letter in the English language.- History :Taw was the last letter of the Western Semitic and Hebrew alphabets...
, cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
es and rectangle
Rectangle
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...
s. The symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s in cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
remind for their form and execution to those that were used the coast
Chala
The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters....
architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
of Virú
Virú culture
The Virú culture occupied the valleys of Chicama and Virú in La Libertad Region of Peru from 100 to 300 CE. The center of their culture was "Castillo de Tomabal", on the left bank of the river Virú....
.
The cruciform motives are identical to those of the side walls on the church in La Jalca
La Jalca District
La Jalca is a district of the Chachapoyas Province in the Amazonas Region, Peru. Its capital is La Jalca, also known as Jalca, Jalca Grande or La Jalca Grande. It was the first Spanish foundation of the region. The current city of Chachapoyas was established here...
, which, according to the local tradition, would have been raised by the mythical Juan Oso, or "small bear", fruit of the relationship between a bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
and a peasant kidnapped by the animal.
The intimate affiliation of the cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
in the church of La Jalca
La Jalca District
La Jalca is a district of the Chachapoyas Province in the Amazonas Region, Peru. Its capital is La Jalca, also known as Jalca, Jalca Grande or La Jalca Grande. It was the first Spanish foundation of the region. The current city of Chachapoyas was established here...
allows to infer that their builders preserved some archaeological walls
Walls
- Other uses :*Wall's , a company that makes ice cream*Wall's sausages, a British sausage brand*Walls, an episode of Power Rangers S.P.D.- Music :*Walls EP, a 2005 album by The Red Paintings*Walls , 2007...
, probably for the fact that these were going to be decorated by the maximum emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
The mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
s of Chachapoyas
Chachapoyas culture
The Chachapoyas, also called the Warriors of the Clouds, were an Andean people living in the cloud forests of the Amazonas region of present-day Peru. The Incas conquered their civilization shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 16th century, the...
do not present Inca cultural influences, but they are relatively late in the chronological chart of Peruvian archaeology, as it was already estimated by the married couple Reichlen (1950), they might date of the 14th century A.C. They are connected, certainly, with the funeral architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
known like chullpa
Chullpa
A chullpa is an ancient Aymara funerary tower originally constructed for a noble person or noble family. The tallest are about 12m high. The tombs at Sillustani are most famous, but chullpas are found across the Altiplano in Peru and Bolivia...
, of wide diffusion in the ancient Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
during the period Tiahuanaco
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku, is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, South America. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five...
-Huari
Huari Culture
The Wari were a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about CE 500 to 1000...
(around 1000 A.C.)
External links
Peru°N date=June 2009°W