Summary from Chotuna Chornancap

About a month ago we returned from Peru with many new thoughts and impressions which we have processed during the past weeks. At the same time we have had many obligations to attend here in Sweden. However, here comes a resume of the visit and interviews in Chotuna Chornancap.

The Chotuna Chornancap project was started by the National Arachaeological Museum Brüning and Carlos Wester, who also helped us during our visit. The museum have worked at the site since 2006 so the project is just in its starting up phase. The project focuses a lot on the community around the cultural remains. The locals have many benefits from the project. Among other things, many of the local inhabitants have been able to participate in the excavations in the huaca if they wished. The coming season will however not allow any excavations, but the area have a site museum with about 4000-6000 visitors every year. The archaeological project has also helped the communities get running water and electricity as well as arranged for a paved road to be built from the town Lambayeque to the small communities. The inhabitants as well as the tourists will be able to transfer a lot faster. The road is what the inhabitants of the villages surrounding Chotuna Chornacap pointed out as the single most important change that the archaeological project creates.

Unlike San José de Moro most of the persons we interviewed around Chotuna Chornacap told us that they could participate in the project, but some chose to not since they preferred to work with farming and fishing. Many of the people that we interviewed also had ideas about how they and the community could develop with the archaeological project and the tourism that follows.

Although there are many differences between the projects in San José de Moro and Chotuna Chornancap we were able to see some similarities in the answers from the interviewed. The participants in Chotuna Cornancap pointed out that:       

•  The archaeological project has affected the children’s education in a positive manner.

• The project has affected the communities in the area in a positive manner.
• Looting has decreased to some extent in Chotuna Chornancap (even though the looting hasn’t been that pronounced as in San José de Moro).
•  Due to a wider knowledge of the archaeology and the history of the site, people value their cultural heritage a lot more than before the archaeological project begun. 

The next step for us is now to transcribe and translate all the interviews to be able to wider analyze and discuss the results of the study. We will continue with the updates in the blog as we advance with the transcriptions and conclusions.

The Site of Chotuna Chornancap

Interviews