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The Amazing New Adventures of Larry and Mark - Peru, Land of the Incas
Modern Hands, Ancient Art and Tradition
It's about 4PM and we're taking a break. Unbelievably, we still have two
more major archeological sites to go today, and these are BIGGIES!
One thing you can expect when you go anywhere with Mark Blazis: you
will squeeze every single moment out of your trip!
We have entered a very nice jewelry fabricating and retail business.
I don't remember the name, but even the plants look like they're on steroids!
The artisans doing all phases of construction are hard at work, in an open
shop for us to watch.
The bare-bones silver, before precious stones are inserted.
Here at this tub, a young artisan takes the naked silver piece and starts finding
the semiprecious stones in the sink, and grinds them, one at a time, to fit the
spaces in the jewelry piece.
When you walk into the jewelry shop proper, you first walk into
this guy looking at you.
These ornate statues are patterned after real ceremonial clothing found
in tombs. Gold and silver were plentiful, and were not prized by the Incas for their
value, but for their beauty and workability. More on this later when we talk
about how the invading Spaniards viewed these gleaming metals.
The Inca soldiers did have shields and metal armor, but their spears and
their clubs were no match for the Spaniards on horses with early
gunpowder weapons.
More soon!
Larry Reich
You may reach me with comments:
Laurence Reich
If you are missing any of the chapters of the Peru story, you can find
them at here at www.auburnbirdbanding.org
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