18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient Murals of Two-faced Figures Found in Peru

Archaeologists are reporting a number of fascinating discoveries as work on the excavations at Pañamarca progresses that are helping to clarify Peru’s ancient history.

Archaeologists discovered ancient murals of two-faced figures clutching unusual treasures—including a goblet from which hummingbirds drink—at Pañamarca, Peru, a 1,400-year-old site.

Construction of Pañamarca, an architectural complex that sits upon a rock outcrop in the Peruvian Ancash region’s lower Nepeña Valley, is estimated to have occurred between 550-800 CE.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science reports that the two intricate murals adorn a singular pillar inside a ceremonial hall of Pañamarca.

One mural near the top of the pillar depicts a two-faced man, with each face looking to the left and right, holding a feather fan in one hand and carrying a goblet from which four hummingbirds drink. Another two-faced man can be seen at the bottom of the pillar. One hand holds a moving feather fan, while the other holds a partially preserved object resembling a stick. The archaeologists say that the artists behind the murals may have been trying to see how movement can be depicted.

Photo: Denver Museum of Nature & Science

The two men wear a crown or headdress, colorful clothing with intricate patterns, and a big belt.

The Archaeological Research Project (PIA) “Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca” is collaboratively led by the international team of Jessica Ortiz Zevallos, Lisa Trever of Columbia University and Michele Koons of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS).

Lisa Trever of Columbia University said: “Pañamarca was a place of remarkable artistic innovation and creativity, with painters elaborating on their knowledge of artistic canons in creative and meaningful ways as the people of Nepeña established their position in the far southern Moche world.”

“Our project has the potential to inaugurate a new period of understanding and appreciation of Moche art, including by contemporary artists who use these ancestral works as inspiration in their own practice,” added Trever.

Photo: Denver Museum of Nature & Science

The mural paintings, along with evidence of highland-style textiles and tropical feathers discovered alongside locally-made ceramics and material culture in the excavations, have been proposed by the team as evidence of multicultural relationships and long-distance economies.

Although Moche burials and other sites have been discovered further south, no Moche structures on the scale of Pañamarca have been discovered beyond Nepea. As a result, the murals in Pañamarca have the potential to reveal much more about the Moche people’s collective identity and aspirations, who lived long before the Inca Empire was established.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Related Articles

Archaeologists Discover 8600-year-old Bread at Çatalhöyük May be the Oldest Bread in the World

5 March 2024

5 March 2024

Archaeologists have discovered about 8,600-year-old bread at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in central Turkey. Çatalhöyük is noteworthy because it is...

Failed Mongol fleet may actually land in Japan after 800 years

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

A  recent shipwreck was found off the coast of Japan this year and identified as part of a Mongol fleet...

Evidence of a Roman shrine dating back was discovered during dig at Leicester Cathedral

7 March 2023

7 March 2023

Excavations by the University of Leicester archaeologists for have uncovered evidence that the site of Leicester Cathedral has been used...

Centuries-old boardwalk discovered

22 December 2023

22 December 2023

During construction work in November 2023, road construction workers in Fürth came across an archaeological sensation: a centuries-old boardwalk under...

Ice Age Cave Entrance that Nobody has Entered for 16,000 Years found in Germany

4 August 2023

4 August 2023

Researchers report they have discovered the official entrance to an Ice Age cave near Engen, Germany, that nobody has entered...

Ancient Sarmatian Treasures, Including 370 Grams of Gold Bracelet, and Burial Sites Discovered in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region

10 February 2025

10 February 2025

During excavations at the Karabau-2 mound in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region, archaeologists made a remarkable discovery, unearthing nine graves—seven of which...

Isotopic Evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups in Morocco

30 April 2024

30 April 2024

It has long been accepted wisdom that hunter-gatherer societies lived primarily off of meat. But fresh data from an innovative...

A rare Roman cornu mouthpiece found at Vindolanda

23 September 2022

23 September 2022

Just south of Hadrian’s Wall, archaeologists have discovered an extremely rare Roman cornu mouthpiece beneath the remains of the ancient...

In the Mediterranean Oldest Hand-Sewn Boat is Preparing for its Next Journey

25 January 2024

25 January 2024

The oldest hand-sewn boat in the Mediterranean was discovered in the Bay of Zambratija near Umag on Croatia’s Istrian peninsula....

An unknown human group is revealed in a 7,200-year-old skeleton discovered in Indonesia

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

According to a study released this week, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a 7,200-year-old skeleton from a female hunter-gatherer in...

The history of Kültepe Mound in central Turkey goes back another 300 years

12 December 2021

12 December 2021

In Kültepe, where the first written documents of Anatolia were unearthed, the date based on 5 thousand years was updated...

Paleontologists Unearth 139 Million-Year-Old Pregnant Dinosaur Fossil in Chile

10 May 2022

10 May 2022

Archeologists in Chile have unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13ft-long pregnant ichthyosaur from a melting glacier -marking the first...

Detector finds rare Merovingian gold ring refers to a previously unknown principality

22 February 2024

22 February 2024

A metal detectorist has unearthed a very rare, 1,500-year-old Merovingian gold ring made of 22-carat gold at Emmerlev in Southwest...

A rare Pictish stone was found near the potential site of the famous Scottish battle that led to the creation of Scotland

7 March 2022

7 March 2022

A team of archaeologists has discovered a Pictish symbol stone close to the site of what is thought to have...

An important Gallo-Roman worship complex was discovered near Rennes, France

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

An essential Gallo-Roman worship complex was unearthed by Inrap  (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) archaeologists at Chapelle-des-Fougeretz (Ille-et-Vilaine), near...