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Peru's First Lady Graces GHF Lima Reception to Raise Urgently Needed Funding and Awareness for Chavín de Huántar

January 29, 2004

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peru’s First Lady Graces GHF Lima Reception to Raise Urgently Needed Funding and Awareness for Chavín de Huántar

January 29th, 2004 - The First Lady of Peru Dra. Eliane Karp de Toledo joined the Director General of the National Institute of Culture, Dr. John Rick of Stanford University, Jeff Morgan, Executive Director of the Global Heritage Fund and over 250 people to celebrate the 3,000 years history of GHF Project Chavín de Huántar and the site’s future potential for sustainable development and conservation in the remote Ancash province, one of the poorest regions of Peru. A new Chavín Gallery was also dedicated in the National Museum of Anthropology and History.

GHF Project Chavín de Hauntar is a critically endangered archaeological site representing the earliest civilization of Peru- the Chavín Horizon. This magnificent site with over 1.5 kilometers of underground galleries and eight major monuments around a central plaza is bringing deep insight into the earliest development of human societal organization and power. This early society controlled and influenced an area from Chile to Ecuador not through military power, but a deeply spiritual and artistic culture. Archaeologists have never found an arrowhead, spear or other evidence of military control, yet Chavín is often referred to as the mother civilization of Peru, 2,000 years before the Inca.

GHF is working with the Peruvian government, Stanford University and INDERCHAP, a local NGO to scientifically conserve and restore the site of Chavín, develop sustainable tourism, provide security and conservation for over 600 Chavín priceless artifacts in preparation for a new national on-site museum, and to reverse the destruction and neglect suffered by this ancient UNESCO World Heritage site throughout modern history.

About Global Heritage Fund
The Global Heritage Fund’s mission is to enable successful long-term preservation of humankind’s most important archaeological sites and ancient townscapes, creating new engines for economic growth in developing countries. GHF works to develop comprehensive Master Conservation Plans, provides early matching grants and training, builds local institutions and promotes sustainable tourism development to ensure permanent protection for global cultural treasures. The Global Heritage Fund is a registered non-profit conservancy based in Palo Alto, California.

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