Four hours drive south of Lima Peru lies the Paracas Peninsula, part of which is an ecological reserve, where one can see wildlife such as sea lions, and a myriad of various sea bird species. The area is amazingly rich in seafood, and abundant fresh water exists just below the surface of the desert sands.
Therefore, it would seem to be a perfect place for people to live. Stone tools, of various forms and styles of shaping have been found in the area, and cursory analysis has established dates of as old as years.
The greatest of Peruvian archaeologists, in my estimation, Julio Tello, made studies in this area in and performed excavations on the north side of the peninsula, in the central area of the large semi-circular bay there. He discovered and excavated a massive and elaborate graveyard, where each tomb contained an entire family, each one ornately wrapped in multiple layers of highly stylized, woven and coloured cotton cloth.
He also found the sand filled remains of subterranean houses, which turned out to be numerous; so numerous in fact, that the village stretched out for between 1 and 2 km. But, the most amazing finds were the skulls, some enormously elongated.
The scientific name for this is dolichocephally. Most skulls exhibiting this condition were clearly the result of the practice of head-binding. And so how was this achieved? It is therefore possible, by lashing a rope around the head, with a board placed at the back of the skull, and perhaps the front as well, to alter the shape of the head over time.
