When we think of archeology, most of us think of ancient structures or graves, pyramids and mummies, but there is a lot more to archeology than just these things. Not all cultures created things that were easily spotted. If you look at the pyramids you can't deny that they stand out and when they were built, it was known that they would be some of the greatest wonders in the world. Yes, the pharos that built them, constructed them for this purpose so that their names would live forever. There are other ancient carvings that seem to have been created not to stand out, but to be hard to even find unless you knew where to look.

One of these hidden types of sculptures can be found in Peru. It is known as the monument to humanity and shows a large carving of a human head that has been carved in an area that is very desolate. The monument has been quite eroded, but it is still recognizable as a human head and attracts tourists to the area. The people have long since vanished, but lived on the Marcahuasi plateau, which is located near Lima Peru. As with many of these isolated finds, it is almost impossible to find a photo that is not copyrighted so I have included the address of a page that has a photo of the monument on it so you can see it if you wish. http://www.lonewolfadventure.com/marcahuasi.html *To view this page simply copy the address and paste it into your browser. Marcahuasi is known as the stone forest and is 4,000 meters above sea level. Anyone that lives there doesn't have to worry about flooding from melting icebergs. It is believed that the ancient people who used to live in the area did so before even the great biblical flood. Hundreds of stone figures are in this area. The ruins are said to be at least 800 centuries old by one archeologist or 80,000 years. Can this be possible? The region also contains many unexplored tunnels that were dug by these ancient peoples and it would be very interesting to see what was inside them or where they lead. One of the great ancient mysteries is where these people went. Some think that they traveled the world creating statues in many different places.

Here is the address of a great photo of an Incan face carved on a mountain known as Ollantaytambo, in Peru. At first it is hard to see, but if you look in the lower right hand corner of the photo you will see the traditional headdress and then the face. The headdress curves over the face in an arc. The photo can be viewed by *copying and pasting the following address into your browser. http://www.mysticwarrior.us/Peru/Incan_Face_on_the_mountain_at_Ollantaytambo.jpg
It seems to me that this carving was not meant to shock and awe the world. It sort of blends into the mountain. Of course it is eroded and may have had a greater effect on people that saw it, when it was first carved. This is just something that you don't hear a lot about. Ottantaytambo is a very interesting place. As everyone knows, the Spaniards defeated the Inca warriors everywhere they met them. Hey, wait, this isn't true, there was one place where the Incas won the battle and that was on this mountain. The Spaniards tried to climb the mountain and take a temple that was on top of it, but the Incas sent thousands of stones down upon them. After several tries they had to give up. They thought that they had come across a fortress. A second much more sinister face is also on the mountain and was surrounded by granaries. The face is located in the Valley of the Unubamba. To see the face *copy and paste this address into your browser's address bar: http://travel.mongabay.com/pix/peru/cuzco-Urubamba_1018_0803.html

One image that was found in Peru seems to be that of a statue. If you look at it from right to left it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Sphinx. Where did it come from and what was it meant to represent? Could it be a natural formation? It certainly is not as grand as the Sphinx. When you look at the photo magnified by 2.5 times the head looks more like a dog's head than anything else. You also get the feeling that this could very well be a natural structure, but it is too hard to tell for sure. A piece of rock formation under the head does looks like it was made to look like the neck and the front does look like the object does have knees because of the way the stones seem to look like legs. To see the photo *copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.altarcheologie.nl/
If this is a man made object, we may never know who built it.

Many pieces of almost hidden rock art have been found in Italy. Some look like circles or holes and others seem to be swirls. I am referring to the Valtellina rock art of the Neolithic and First Copper Age, not to be confused with later rock art. This stuff might go back further than 3,000 B.C. The location of this art is in Lombardy and is not that far from Switzerland. Spirals seemed to possess some sort of mystical meaning for ancient man, they can be seen in many of the earliest forms of art throughout the world. Another form may be related to the spirals and that is concentric half circles which were created in many different regions during the same time period. What compelled our ancestors to draw these same images everywhere? The answer is unknown, but it is likely some sort of religious or mystical symbol. To see the photo *copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3857/neol.html

While the Egyptians were busily creating their elaborate tombs, tombs that were more mound like were being created in Ireland. An example of this mound building that has somehow survived is in Boyne valley near Newgrange. As you will see if you look at the photo, there is a very large mound that is surrounded by much smaller mounds. I find this very curious. There are 17 smaller mounds all around the large one. Could they be family members or friends of an important chief that may have been buried in the main mound? *copy and paste this address into your browser to see some photos: http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/micsun/IrishResources/knowth.htm\
The area is known as the Knowth Passage Grave.

It seems that not all ancient people were looking to impress other races and that a lot of their stone work and carvings were for their own edification. This is only my humble opinion and many experts in the field may disagree with this conclusion and that is alright too. It seems to me that many of the things that were created fell into two distinct classes, things to impress everyone, including the gods and things that were meant to either convey information to members of the race or tribe or to impress mainly them. One has only to look at the work of the ancient Egyptians, the gigantic temples and statues, the tombs that were larger than life and the sphinx, to know this was meant for all to be in awe of. If we look at the Incas next and look at some of their carvings we realize that they were not meant to impress, yet the Incas were capable of impressing us, just look at some of their temples. There is so much that has been lost to us in the area of socialization among ancient peoples. We just don't know what they were thinking when they did certain things and we can only guess. There is much disagreement over whether some ancient races like the Incas even had a written language. Many scientists say that they didn't, yet others say they did, but it was very complicated. This fact certainly hinders us in understanding them. As with other ancient people, we may never fully understand their monuments and carvings.

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