Knife-wielding spider god mural unearthed in Peru

Live Science ^ | 04/14/2021 | By Mindy Weisberger -

[BenLurkin]

An ancient ceremonial building that was built thousands of years ago in northwestern Peru's La Libertad region was decorated with a painting of a spider deity clutching a knife. Archaeologists discovered the mural in November 2020, after local farmers damaged the temple structure during the expansion of their sugar cane and avocado plantations.

When scientists inspected the monument ("huaca" in the Indigenous Quechuan family of languages), they found a figure painted against a white background on the southern wall, in shades of ocher, yellow and gray....

The wall holding the spider god mural faces a river bisecting the Virú Valley, according to La República. This likely meant that the deity had a connection to water, and that sacred ceremonies were probably performed in the temple during the rainy season between January and March, when water levels in the river would be highest, according to Jordán.

Cupisnique culture prevailed along Peru's northern coast from around 1250 B.C. to A.D. 1, and Indigenous people produced the region's first known temples during that time, according to the Larco Museum, a privately owned museum in Lima showcasing pre-Columbian art. Spider deities were frequently represented on pottery plates and cups, and were associated with fertility...

[Salamander]

And this is why I make a point to befriend spooders.

:D

[null and void]

On the left side of the mural, zigzagging lines show a partial view of a spider deity's multiple legs. Geometric shapes on the mural's right represent the lower part of a knife the god is gripping. (Image credit: Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina/Photo by Luis Puell)

Somebody is seeing puppies in the clouds...