Museo Nacional Sicán

Although not quite as celebrated as the Museo Tumbas Reales, this handsome, modern, and excellent museum, inaugurated in 2001, is very much worth a visit to round out an understanding of the region's ancient civilizations. Like its better-known sibling, it too is pyramid-shaped and a study in cement and glass, but it focuses on the Sicán culture (also called Lambayeque) that succeeded the Moche and thrived until the 14th century. The Sicán (which means "Temple of the Moon"), who were the first to discover bronze in northern Peru, buried their dead in unique vertical rooms and surrounded them with large collections of valuable metals. Those graves provided looters throughout Peru with a wealth of sought-after gold objects. Sicán masks with ojos alados, or "winged eyes," are very prized among institutions and collectors, and some excellent examples are on view here. The museum is located in Ferreñafe, 20km (12 miles) north of Chiclayo, along the road that leads to Batán Grande.

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