The museum of archeology and anthropology chronologically traces the pre-history of Peru. It contains collections of Nazca ceramics as well as Paracas weavings.

The museum houses artifacts from every region of the country and it’s the most comprehensive in Peru. With its clay pots, metal instruments and skeletal remains, we can attempt to piece together a picture of what life in Peru might have been prior to the Spanish overtaking.

The fact that metal instruments were made and used in these times demonstrates an advanced level of civilization. Some of the tools themselves were intricately fashioned as were the tiny golden artifacts which manage to stay in the country.

The images painted on or carved into the pottery are also quite revealing. Some of them depict the type of citizenry that you’d expect to find here yet others make you stop and scratch your head.

The Gold Museum is a huge basement vault which houses thousands of gold objects ranging from ear plugs to ponchos with gold plates. In addition to the gold objects, there are statues of ancient Peruvians wearing the gold as they would have during their lifetimes. This man has gold foil on legs arms and face and often gold breast plates were worn. Gold is not the only precious object to be found at this museum, there are cases full of jewelry and quartz, crystal, amethyst and lapis lazuli are all important components of these necklaces.