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North America | Pacific | South America 1 | 2

The Museum's WCE collection from South America is highlighted here in 3 of the principal accessions. Emilio Montez, a 19th century collector from Cuzco, presented a significant collection of highland materials at the Chicago World's Fair that was purchased by the museum. These artifacts from Cuzco are primarily the heritage of the Inca empire.

George Dorsey, one of the museum's first curators, excavated at the site of Ancon in 1891 for his dissertation at Harvard University. This collection of primarily Chancay (1200-1500 AD) funerary contents was exhibited at The Fair and became one of the museum's first scientific archaeological collections. Dorsey likewise conducted excavations during this expedition at the Island of La Plata in Ecuador. The contents were recovered from a funerary area that contained both artifacts of an Inca (circa 1500 AD) capacocha, or child sacrifice, and materials from the local Ecuadorian cultures.



Continue through Object Gallery: South America. >>