Archaeological wonder

Part of the magic of a journey through Peru is due to the surprising number of archaeological monuments that lie in the immediate vicinity of the major cities. Kotosh is a beautiful example of an archaeological site in the peruvian andes, considered an archaeological site, located five kilometers outside the town of Huánuco. The temple complex of the Templo de las Manos Cruzadas was built in 2000a.Chr. and is counted with its characteristic features to the Kotosh Mito phase. Due to the advantageous location between the west pacific coast and the east Selva probably the trade of each specific products in the corresponding other direction of importance.

Temple of the Crossed Hands (Templo de las Manos Cruzadas)

The nearly 4,000-year-old temple complex is one of the first traces of human civilization in Peru and is also one of the oldest attractions in the entire American continent. In the most important temple of the complex are two reliefs of unfired clay, each representing crossed hands. The temple complex consists of pyramidal structures that were originally several temples, such as the Templo Blanco (White Temple) and the Templo de los Nichitos (Temple of Small Niches), and among them the ‘Templo de las Manos Cruzadas’ ( Temple of the Crossed Hands), because two pairs of sculptures were found in the high relief, which were worked with crossed arms of unfired clay. There is no doubt about the high hierarchy of the priesthood of Kotosh and the depictions of rites and religious pilgrimages. They are among the oldest works of andean art. In one embodiment, the left hand, in the other, the right hand in the foreground. Size differences suggest women’s and men’s hands accordingly. Locally embedded in the wall, today are replicas. The original of the female hands is in the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Peru. Unfortunately, the relief of the man’s hands has been destroyed, a detailed cast can be seen in the Museo Regional Leoncio Prado de Huánuco. The temple has a nearly square layout and has an entrance. In the center of the interior there is a depression in which plants were burned for ritual purposes.