Geographical Location Sipán, called Siec in the extinct Mochica language, is located in the northern part of the Peruvian coast, in the Lambayeque Valley, 35 kilometers east of the city of Chiclayo. This town, nestled in the Pomalca Cooperative, is reached by a paved road.
History of the archaeological find
Lord of Sipán “In April 1987 -says Dr. Walter Alva-, archaeologists and students from the Bruning Museum, directed by the author, began archaeological rescue work on an old adobe platform located in front of two large pyramidal constructions, more than 30 m high. high that emerge between the sugar cane fields, near the town of Sipán, in the Lambayeque valley. These monuments that belong to the Mochica Culture, must have constituted in their time an important religious sanctuary that had been depredated. Our intervention, after stopping the looting, began the scientific excavation on the platform that led, a few weeks later, to one of the most fascinating and important discoveries in American archaeology:the intact burial chamber of a Moche lord. For the first time a ruler of ancient Peru showed his splendorous magnificence and invaluable information on the social organization, religion, technology and life system of the time". The excavation tasks lasted ten months. The first weeks were of arduous physical work to remove thousands of tons of earth, before reaching the first pre-Inca compartment.The following weeks were of a daily familiarity with surprise because the spatulas and brushes, handled by dexterous hands, brought archaeologists closer to the world of the past.A collective scientific excitement took over the expedition the last days of the excavation when they arrived at the "royal chamber", the one where the most powerful of the lords of Lambayeque was buried. Upon discovering it, they felt a sublime exultation.
Tomb of the Lord of Sipán The treasures kept by the pyramids The two clay pyramids emerge in Sipán like desert hills, while their bases kiss the green plains, planted with sugar cane. Almost two thousand years ago, the landscape of that sector of the Lambayeque Valley was a mixture of mud and crops. The difference with today's is that the Mochica man had turned the mud into lavish buildings, where the members of the highest lineage of the "Mochica lordships" lived and died. These were owners and directors of everything that happened in their extensive agricultural areas that, just like today, seen from their palaces, are lost in the distance. These "lords" left their traces and did not allow humanity to find out how they lived until 1987.
Gold rattle with the presence of a winged god 
Gold statuette that appears to represent a vassal bowing to his lord. The central enclosure and the royal chamber The excavation in the central level made possible the discovery of a 1.30 by 2.80 m enclosure where there were:1150 ceramic pieces with food remains, four copper crowns, llama bones and the skeleton of a man. To the east of the pyramid, a quadrangular fill was found, delimited by cut adobes. When excavated on one of its sides, the skeleton of a young guardian appeared, carrying a copper shield on his forearm. His feet were amputated, so that he has "the obligation to remain forever in his position." It was the singular indication that an intact tomb would be found. Indeed, the tomb was an enclosure of 5 m per side, roofed with 17 parallel beams that once supported the exterior sediments. To protect a wooden coffin, eight metal borders had been placed, delimiting a space of 2.20m by 1.25m. "Under the tense atmosphere -says Dr. Alva- that reigned in the environment, we were all stunned when the perfect and energetic miniature face of a little gold man appeared. The archaeologist Luis Chero, my immediate assistant, agreed with me to call the character that we saw resuscitating from his long rest:Lord of Sipán". The objects that were counted and selected were the following:- Two pairs of gold and turquoise earmuffs, on both sides of the skull. -Three sharp spears and copper discs in the central part of the skeleton, where a solid gold ingot was also found. - Copper sandals that covered the feet of the lord. - The funerary bundle had been covered with cotton blankets and embroidered with fine gilt copper plates. Around it were many spondylus shells from the Gulf of Guayaquil. - On the bones of the face, it found two eyes, a nose, a chin guard, nose rings and other skull ornaments, all they made of gold and stones semi-precious. - Eleven pectorals were made of cylindrical beads red, white shell and orange, those that covered chest, legs and the torso of the skeleton. - There were hundreds of accounts turquoise on the bracelets of the lord. - They were placed on the chest 20 metallic peanut fruits, from of which 10 were gold and 10 were silver. The first were at his right side. - A gold ingot in the right hand of the skeleton and a copper one on the left. The right also held a gold scepter, with a high relief where you see the slitting of a enemy warrior. Your left hand holding a scepter of similar configuration, but made of copper. - Sixteen convex gold disks rested directly on chest. - At the height of the throat, it was a necklace with 71 spheres of gold in gradient. Below, about the belly, there was a knife gold on the right and one copper left. - The lord's bones were splintered or disintegrated. The archaeologists they proceeded to arm them and harden them with layers of acrylic resin. - Below the skeleton appeared a large semi-lunar headband of gold. It is:"... a sheet of 62 cm of width and height 42 cm only appeared in the Mochica iconography, related to the characters of the highest investiture, who monopolize honors and offerings". - Under the bed there were two semicircular gold rattles, with the mythological figure of "The Cutthroat". - One of the most spectacular jewels was also found:a protector gold coxal 45 cm high and 790 grams in weight. - Another similar protector was made of copper. - This rich 35-year-old man had not been buried alone. it They were accompanied by two young women barely 20 years old, his wives or favorites and were probably buried alive. There were also two male skeletons, one of which was a warrior and had between his legs the skeleton of a dog. Further away, there were the remains of a woman, a ten-year-old boy and two flames. - In five niches that were on three sides of the royal chamber, 212 ceramic vessels were found with remains of food:"the food for the afterlife." 
Scepter of Power of the Lord of Sipán 
Gold necklace with figurines of peanuts chained with precious stones 
Gold mask. It represents a man with jaguar fangs 
Gold mask with silver inlays and lapis lazuli in the eyes New Finds:Tomb of the Priest The tomb of a Mochica priest was the second burial chamber to be found. It was a character of lesser lineage, the one who had been buried in the company of a guardian, four other people and a dog. Dr. Alva says about this finding that:"... it seems that we are rescuing the members of the elite who could be a key to understanding this complex society."The old Lord of Sipán Another intact tomb has been excavated on the south side of the pyramid, 6 m. deep, slightly smaller than the previous one. A skeleton, 54 gold objects and other ornaments made of copper and semi-precious stones were found. Among the gold objects, a necklace with the representation of 10 gold spiders, another with 10 felines, 10 rattles or "chalchalcas" and several nose rings stand out. He was buried alongside a young woman and a llama. He must have preceded the Lord of Sipán by two or three generations.
Ethnohistorical meaning of the Lord of Sipán The remains of the Lord of Sipán have taken us back approximately 1,700 years. The value of his jewelry and other artifacts found in his tomb is incalculable. But, much richer is having found it in his original tomb, because this will allow unraveling the way of life of the Mochicas, one of the great pre-Inca cultures. Due to his current importance, the Lord of Sipán has already been transferred to several places in the world. He was in Germany for his restoration and in the United States, he was from museum to museum to be observed, studied and admired. So that these visits have the solemnity of the case, he is accompanied by a decoration imposed by the Peruvian government, which means a current recognition of one of the great settlers of the past. The remains of the Lord of Sipán rest in the recently inaugurated (2002) Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque, where a replica of his original tomb has been made.
Gold and turquoise earmuffs depicting the Mochica warrior 
Deep plate adorned with statues of fishermen The faithful companion of the pre-Inca nobility In the ancient Andean tombs, archaeologists have found the mummies of the nobles always accompanied by everything that could "use them in the hereafter". Of course, the nobleman was buried with more things the richer he had been in the land. For example, the kings, like the Lord of Sipán, were buried with their women, warriors, long tails, white or black with brown spots. It can be compared to the current "funny dog". He had an average lifespan of twelve years. He had large fangs, basically carnivorous and fed on the remains of the animals that were hunted. Precisely because of his aggressive character, he was used for hunting, mainly deer. He had been trained to corner them. Then, his masters were in charge of killing the prey with arrows and knives. The dog lived alongside the Andean man since the first human settlements. During the Preceramic the dog was domesticated by the first hunters of animals, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, etc. Fewer items have been found in the tombs of lower-ranking nobles. But, the skeleton of the dog has always been a common hallmark. The type of dog that mainly walks and moves with its owners in search of prey. To the Poémape period belong the skeletons of dogs found in the tombs of the nobility of the Cupisnique culture. The tracks of dogs in fresh mud found in the excavations of the tombs in the Saña valley belong to the Purulen period. The first representations of the dog in sculptures belong to the Moche culture, where he had already become a "guardian and companion of nobles and priests". But, in later times, this "long-tailed dog" was replaced by the "hairless dog" or "Chinese dog". Its functions changed and it was used more in the home than in hunting. The nobles of the pre-Inca era bred the so-called "hunting dog."
“Long-tailed dog”, most common type of dog in the ancient Andean world The dogs of Sipán were of Andean origin “People are wrong when they say that the dog of the Lord of Sipán had no hair. The famous hairless dog was never used for hunting because it lacked almost all of its molars and premolars. This made it a domestic animal, says Ermano Maneiro, international judge of purebred dogs of the International Cinological Federation. Maneiro verified this when in Poémape a group of archaeologists found the skeleton of a dog, whose shape took six to seven months to identify. In the end, it was discovered that he did have hair. It is very difficult to say which of them, “the one found next to the tomb of the Lord of Sipán or the one called hairless”, is the oldest, but both existed in pre-Inca times. There are several theories about the origin of this breed. One of them claims that it appeared along with the migration of people who traveled with their dogs from Asia to America through the Bering Strait. What can be confirmed is that it appears in pottery from different pre-Inca cultures such as Vicús, Mochica, Chimú and especially Chancay with Tiahuanaco influence” (Lucero Yrigoyen M.Q.).JULIO VILLANUEVA SOTOMAYOR "Biographies -Lord of Sipán"