Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [22]
In August of 2003, the commission issued its final report, revealing that the death toll from that era was more than twice what anyone had ever estimated: almost 70,000 people had been killed or disappeared. Moreover, children had been left orphaned, villages had been abandoned and thousands of lives left in tatters. Along with the final report, the commission also staged an extraordinarily moving exhibit of photography called Yuyanapaq (‘to remember’ in Quechua) that is now housed at Lima’s Museo de la Nación (Click here). A permanent museum to house this archive – to be called the Museo de la Memoria (Museum of Memory), spearheaded by Mario Vargas Llosa – was in the early planning stages in 2009.
Learn more about the commission’s work (and download their final report) by visiting their website at www.cverdad.org.pe.
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García’s term, however, has not been without outrage. His entire cabinet was forced to resign in 2008, after widespread allegations of bribery and corruption surfaced. And, that same year, he signed a law that allowed foreign companies to exploit natural resources in the Amazon. The legislation caused a backlash among various Amazon tribes, who blocked roads in the area in protest. In June of 2009, a confrontation between police and natives outside of Bagua left 33 people dead (most of them officers) and hundreds of civilians injured. The Peruvian congress revoked the law and, for now, the situation has cooled off. But the president nonetheless faces untold challenges: the development (or not) of the Amazon; how to deal with the resurgence of Sendero Luminoso around Ayacucho; and the continuing chasm that exists between rich and poor, indigenous and white in Peru. For the meantime, however, the country is enjoying a rare moment of prosperity and hope. One can only hope it will last.
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Alberto Fujimori’s daughter Keiko is a member of the Peruvian legislature and is expected to run for the presidency in 2011.
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TIMELINE
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8000 BC Hunting scenes are painted in caves by hunter-gatherers near Huánuco in the central highlands and in Toquepala in the south – early evidence of humans in Peru.
c 3000 BC Settlement of Peru’s coastal oases begins; some of the first structures are built at the ceremonial center of Caral.
3000 BC Potatoes, squash, cotton, corn, lúcuma (a type of fruit) and quinoa begin to be domesticated; at this point, llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs had likely been tamed for about 1000 years.
1000 BC The Chavín Horizon begins, in which various highland and coastal communities are united by uniform religious deities.
200 BC The Nazca culture on the southern coast starts construction on a series of giant glyphs that adorn the desert to this day.
AD 1 The southern coast sees the rise of the Paracas Necropolis culture, known for its highly intricate textiles that depict stylized images of warriors, animals and gods.
200 The Tiwanaku begin their 400-year domination of the area around Lake Titicaca, into what is today Bolivia and northern Chile.
500 The Moche culture, in the north, begins work on Huaca del Sol y de la Luna, adobe temples situated outside of present-day Trujillo.
600 The Wari culture emerges from the Ayacucho area and consolidates an empire that covers a territory from Cuzco to Chiclayo.
c 800 The fiercely independent Chachapoyas build Kuélap, a citadel in the northern highlands composed of 400 constructions.
c 850 The Chimú begin development of Chan Chan, outside of present-day Trujillo, a sprawling adobe urban center.
1100–1200 The Incas emerge as a presence in Cuzco – according to legend, they were led to the area by a divine figure known as Manco Cápac and his sister, Mama Ocllo.
1438–71 The reign of Inca Yupanqui – also known as Pachacutec – represents a period of aggressive empire-building for the Incas; during this time, Machu Picchu and Saqsaywamán are built.
1492 Funded by the Spanish crown, Genoa-born explorer Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas.
1493 Inca Huayna Cápac begins