Chachapoya

Image property of History Channel

Having made a wonderful dinner, most of which came from my garden, my husband and I sat down for our evening meal.  Tonights special: History's Mysteries: Cliff Mummies of the Andes.

A year and a half ago, my husband and I trekked four days along the Incan trail to Machu Picchu.  Prior to this trip the only history of the area that I knew was of the Incas.  Being an Art History major with a specialty in "non-western" art, I am ashamed to say as I watched the documentary that the Chachapoya were a people completely unknown to me.  The majority of the film follows Dr. Keith Muscutt of the University of CA, Santa Cruz on his 15 year quest to find an undisturbed Chachapoya burial site.

Tombs in the Cliff "Diablo Huasi"

(©Adriana von Hagen)

The documentary itself was well done but what drove me to choose the documentary was the cover image.  The stone figures painted with decorative red designs reminded me of an art exhibit that I was fortunate enough to help renovate.  The exhibit was a revamping of African art installation, mostly pieces belonging to the Dogon and surrounding north african people. The pieces which connected for me were on of the Dogon masks and an Akuaba doll.

Dogon Mask (source: GenuineAfrica.com),

Ashanti Akuba Doll (source: randafricanart.com),

Chachapoya funeral guard (source: HistoryChannel.com) 

The high broad forehead, thin straight nose and oval eyes can be found on all three statues.  For the woman who commissioned the Akuba dolls, these traits represented their ideal beauty.  Since the Akuba dolls were used by woman as a sort of fertility charm, it's only fitting that the image would represent the ideal beauty.  What I find interesting, and why I've compared the Chachapoya statue to African statues is that typical Incan humanoid statues do not share these physical traits.

Statue from "1000

Years of Incan Gold"

Source: silviahartmann.com

Pre-Incan statue @ San Augstin

Archeological Park

Source: posterlounge.co.uk

Though the Chachapoya were conquered by the Inca and not Incan themselves, the Inca's influence would have been evident in their art.  Incan faces tend to have much larger eyes, a triangular/broad nose and ornamentation in the form of a hat, earrings and/or necklace.  

Why would a culture, such as the Chachapoya, develop such a different artistic style from the cultures that surrounded it. And why would their style emulate culture which were thousands of miles away?  I don't have an answer just a series of theories, one of which includes ancient air travel.  Not probable I realize but it would definitely help to explain occurrences such as these.