South America
From the Amazon Rainforest to the Andes Mountains, meet the women of South America a thousand years ago.
December 2018
|
The Pilgrim of Pariti
Pariti, Bolivia An elite woman who visited Pariti, an island on Lake Titicaca, on a final pilgrimage as the Tiwanaku Empire fell. Pottery made in her likeness was ritually smashed and buried at the temple before the island was abandoned. |
November 2019
|
The Reader of Ancash
Castillo de Huarmey, Peru A noblewoman of the Wari Empire prepares a khipu for ritual purposes connected to an ancestral burial. Wari weavers in the Andes invented khipus, a unique three-dimensional writing system of wrapped and knotted cords. |
March 2020
|
The Little Family of Guayaquil
Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador A Cañari woman walks along the beach with her daughter, the child of a Polynesian sailor who visited some years ago. Finds of sweet potato in the Cook Islands prove that Polynesians had contacted people in South America by the year 1000. |
April 2021
|
The Cloudgazer of Kuélap
Kuélap, Peru A teenager sits and watches the clouds go by in Kuélap, the great walled city of the Chachapoya. Living in the unique environment of the cloud forest, her access to the goods of both the mountains and the rainforest enables her to create incredible textiles and other art. |
October 2021
|
The Cacica and the Water Bearer
Teyuna, Colombia Two women walk down the steps of the mighty Tairona city of Teyuna. One holds great status in the city as its cacica, while the other carries water in a large jug. This well-irrigated city at the top of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was home to great riches of agriculture and gold. |
February 2023
|
The Traveller of Moxos
Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia Dressed in her finest clothing, jewellery and face paints, an Amazonian woman paddles her way down a long, straight canal. Canals and causeways like this were major construction projects that connected people across the rainforest and beyond. |
September 2023
|
The Stargazers of 'Yero
Río Negro, Argentina Two lovers sit by the fire alongside the dogs they adopted as their own children. They wear the painted cloaks that were the artistic masterpieces of Aónikenk women and gaze up at the stars that guided their people through every stage of life. |
The Spinners of Sicán
Batán Grande, Peru Two women spin camelid fibers with drop spindles. They have come to the plaza in the city of Sicán, where they will help in the preparations for mass funerals taking place in the city to honour its leaders. |
February 2024