MU anthropology professor emeritus Robert Benfer recently identified previously overlooked animal and human effigy mounds in coastal Peru.

His findings have been recognized as a validation of many researchers’ hypotheses that the Incas used these mounds as both religious sites and earthly representations of constellations, or a zodiac system.

While reviewing satellite images of archaeological sites, Benfer noticed the resemblance of what had been labeled as irrigation canals to teeth. After conducting field research, Benfer determined the locations of many other effigy mounds, which include the forms of a puma, a condor and even a human figure.

These mounds are among the first of their kind to be found in South America, according to an [MU news release](http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2012/0328-rare-animal-shaped-mounds-discovered-in-peru-by-mu-anthropologist/).

“The only effigy mounds previously known were from the Midwest of the United States,” Benfer said in an email. “Most Peruvian, European, Japanese and many American archaeologists don’t know them.”

Although these effigy mounds are located near the famous Nazca lines, they are very different in composition and purpose. Benfer said the effigy mounds he identified are significant not only because they represent the oldest animal mounds outside of North America but also because they serve as astronomical markers that were probably used by Incas as a calendar system to determine when to harvest crops.

“(The mounds) are made from rocks and dirt brought to the site and then oriented to an astronomical direction while being formed into an animal image,” Benfer said.

Researching mound-building culture is important because the mounds represent one of the earliest lasting remains of the ancient Incan culture, Benfer said.

“Animal figures, lines in the desert at Nazca and elsewhere in coastal valleys, are now known to be more than 2,000 years older,” Benfer said. “So the Zodiac known by the Inca and indigenous South Americans even today has a very great antiquity, possibly the longest such tradition in the world.”

Although the ancient mounds are recognized to be of great importance within archaeological and anthropological circles, Benfer said many Peruvians living near the mounds are more interested in sustaining their modern lifestyle. In his upcoming trip back to Peru this summer, Benfer will continue to work to preserve the animal effigy mounds.

“The greatest challenge is making studies before they are destroyed by farmers who now have heavy equipment for the first time,” Benfer said. “They don’t realize the importance, especially of the smaller mounds.”