Expert: Women ruled in ancient Peru
Lima: Women in ancient Peru, far from being marginalised and invisible, were political and economic decisionmakers, according to a new study that challenges many traditional takes on the country’s history.
Historian Maritza Villavicencio sets out the findings that run counter to previous hypotheses that highranking preColumbian women in Peru were mere “priestesses” in Mujer, poder y alimentacion en el antiguo Peru ( Woman, power and food in ancient Peru).
Instead, she asserts, they were monarchs.
The book, published by San Martin de Porres University, is the result of the 10 years of research.
“Women were invisible in history, and what my book does is propose restoring the memory of the real life of these women. That’s why this is more than just a claim,” Villavicencio said.
In the book, Villavicencio argues that women exercised political power in their communities in different areas of preHispanic Peru.
“Women were categorised as priestesses to lower their status – not as a person who had power to participate in their people’s political, economic and social activities, able to decide and make alliances with make rulers,” she said.
Traditional books of Peruvian history said that women were absent when governing decisions were made, but her research shows the opposite, she said.
Villavicencio said lineage was a principal criterion for assuming power.
There were also four areas in which power was attributed to indi viduals: miracleworking, reproduction, textilemaking, and supplying food.
Women’s “power to heal, to summon the weather through knowledge, to show the path of life and death made them leaders”, she affirmed.
An important symbol was the tattoo. “For example, the Lady of Cao had serpents tattooed on her arm, which signified she was able to summon water from the rivers and possibly predict the weather.”
There are also sanctuaries in which the remains of elite women have been discovered, such as at a site in the Lima neighbourhood of Miraflores called Pucllana, or a nearby site in San Isidro.
The buried remains of men were also found, but they were of lower rank. — AFP