Peru's Ancient Treasures Are Being Squeezed

Thousands of historic ruins from Peru's once-sprawling Inca empire are being lost or damaged in the name of progress.

And necessity.

The sites, known as "huacas" are taking a back seat to the development of roads, schools, residential neighborhoods and stadiums in order to meet the demands of a steadily growing population. They are being crowded out by the construction or destroyed entirely, the Associated Press reported.

The majority of this threatening development is occurring in the capital Lima, home to about 400 of Peru's 46,000 pre-colonial sites.

Towering apartment buildings in the city now loom over one such huacas site. In another example, a highway now pulses underneath an adobe palace and 900-year-old cemetery.

The Peruvian government's budget includes just enough money to protect one percent of its 46,000 historic sites, according to the Associated Press report. The remainder are simply abandoned or wind up becoming trash dumps.

"Since the founding of Lima, there has been no relationship between the people and the huacas, beyond seeing them as mounds of earth or places to search for treasures," Lima-based archaeologist Hector Walde told the Associated Press.

That lack of a relationship between the Peruvian people and the Inca sites has translated into a history of destroying the huacas in favor of new development.

For example, there was massive destruction of the pre-colonial sites during the 20th century amid the pressures of Lima's first urban explosion. The growth resulted in walls of one temple being destroyed in order to harvest the material to make bricks for new homes.

Not all Peruvians, however, feel such a disconnect from these ancient sites. A small group of archeologists and officials are seeking to protect the huacas, the Associated Press reported.

That effort has included a public awareness campaign, part of which involves providing free admission to museums and historic sites across the country in hopes of helping Peruvians develop a meaningful connection to their cultural heritage.

There's also talk of creating a new antiquities law to strengthen protection of the sites, a proposal that has been criticized by some activists. The concern is that the new law would result in reduced protections for those sites not designated archaeologically significant.

Still, others argue that saving the haucas for years to come will require engaging the right people.

"Museums have to investigate, and the same goes for universities," Krysztof Makowski, of the University of Warsaw archaeologist, told Associated Press. "When you have those people interested, it is easier to protect the heritage."

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