Walter Alva is a Peruvian archaeologist who has helped to uncover the secrets and treasures of the ancient Moche civilization. Alva is most well known for working on tombs at Sipán and old murals in the Lambayeque valley. He also went after "huaqueros," or grave robbers to keep a hold on artifacts that were almost lost at Sipán.
In 1987 Alva was called to a police station to look at a mask that had been stolen from the tombs at Sipán. After looking at the mask it was evident that the site would be of great value so Alva went there. The site was damaged but Alva was still able to make some great discoveries. He found the body of a Moche lord that had been untouched. Thanks to this find more is known about this culture. Before this site was looked at in more detail the pyramids around it had been thought to be of the Chimu civilization.
Alva also discovered the oldest temple murals in the Americas. They were found at a site called Ventarrón in November of 2007. The 4,000 year old murals showed a deer caught in a net. The area around the site was known to have hunters and gatherers living there. Also at this site a temple was found that was made with simple building materials which was odd because the mural was found to be more elegant. This was an important find because it showed that the culture was able to spread farther then it was previously thought. (This site is only 12 miles away from Sipán)
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6502/discover.htm, (2006)
VES, http://www.unmuseum.mus.pa.us/raiders.htm, (2006)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071112-peru-temple.html (2008)
Written By: Laura Buswell, 2008