Customs Service  
19 CFR Part 12  
[T.D. 97-50]  
RIN 1515-AC17  

Archaeological and Ethnological Material From Peru  

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.  
ACTION: Final rule.  

IV. Pre-Columbian Lithics   

A. Chipped Stone: Projectile Points   

Paijan Type Points   
Size: 8 cm.--18 cm.  
Shape: Triangular or heart-shaped.  
Color: Generally reddish, orange, or yellow. Can be made of quartz. 
Leaf-Shaped Points   
Size: 2.5 cm.--15 cm.  
Shape: Leaf-shaped. Can be ovaloid or lanceolate.  
Color: Generally bright reds, yellows, ochers, quartz crystals, milky whites, greens and blacks. 
Paracas Type Points   
Size: .3 cm.--25 cm.  
Shape: Triangular and lanceolate. Show marks of pressure-flaking. Often they are broken.  
Color: Generally black. 
Chivateros-Type Blanks   
Size: .8 cm.--18 cm. Shape: Concave indentations on the surface from working. Color: Greens, reds, and yellows. 

Bowl--Vessels of dark colored-stone, sometimes streaked. They have a highly polished, very smooth surface. Some show external carved decoration. Diameters range from 12 cm--55 cm.  
Cups--Also vessels of dark-colored stone. Generally have flaring sides. Typical of the Late Horizon. They are highly polished and may have external carved designs or may be in the shape of heads. 18 cm.-- 28 cm. in height.  
Conopas--Small vessels in the form of camelids with a hollow opening on the back. They are black to greenish-black and highly polished. .8 cm.--16 cm. in length.  
Idols--Small anthropomorphic figurines, frequently found in Middle Horizon contexts. The almond-shaped eyes with tear-bands are characteristic of the style. Larger examples tend to be of lighter- colored stone while the smaller ones are of dark stones. 12 cm.--28 cm. in height.  
Mace head--Varying shapes, most commonly are doughnut-shaped or star-shaped heads, generally associated with Late Intermediate Period and Inca cultures. Commonly black, gray, or white, .8 cm.--20 cm. in diameter.  
Metal-working hammer--Elongated shapes, frequently with one flat surface; highly polished. Generally of dark-colored stone, 3 cm.--12 cm. 

Tenon head--These heads have an anthropomorphic face, prominent lips, and enormous noses. Some, especially those carved of diorite, have snake-like traits. The carved surface is highly polished.  
Tablets--Tablets with high-relief design. The upper surface has a patina. They range from 20 cm. to more than 1 m. in length. 

A. Wood   

Keros (Beakers)--The most common form is a bell-shaped beaker with a flat base, though some have a pedestal like a goblet. Decoration varies with the period:   
Pre-Inca: Very rare, they have straight sides and incised or high- relief decoration. Some have inset shells.  
Inca: Generally they are incised with geometric designs on the entire exterior.  
Colonial Inca: Lacquer painted on the exterior to depict scenes of daily life, nature, and war. 
Staffs--Objects of ritual or ceremonial use made of a single piece of wood. They can be distinguished on the basis of two or three of the following traits:   
On the lower third, the staff may have a metal decoration.  
The body itself is cylindrical and of variable length.  
The upper third may have decorations, including inset shell, stone, or metal. Some staffs function as rattles, and in these cases, the rattle is in the upper part. 
Carvings--Worked blocks of wood, such as wooden columns (orcones) to support the roofs of houses: Chincha, Chimu, and Chancay cultures. Individuals may be depicted standing or seated on a pedestal. In the upper part there is a notch to support the beams, which generally has a face, sometimes painted, at the base of the notch. Their length varies, but they are generally at least a meter or more.  
Box--Small lidded boxes, carved of two pieces of wood. Generally the outer surface of box and lid are carved in relief. Chimu-Inca cultures. They measure approximately 20 cm. x 10 cm.  
Mirror--Wooden supports for a reflective surface of polished anthracite or pyrite. In some cases the upper part of backs of mirrors are worked in relief or have inset of shell. Moche culture.  
Paddle and rudder--Large carvings made of a single piece of wood. Paddles have three parts: the blade and the handle (sometimes decorated), and an upper decorated part, which can have metal plaques or decorative painting. Rudders have two parts: the blade and a handle which may be carved in relief. Chincha culture. Paddles can be 2.30 m. in length and rudders are up to 1.4 m.  
Utensils--Bowls and spoons made of wood decorated with zoomorphic or anthropomorphic motifs.  
Musical instruments--Trumpets and whistles. Trumpets can be up to 1.2 m. long and are generally decorated on the upper third of the instrument. Whistles vary a great deal from the undecorated to those decorated with human forms. Moche, Huari, and Inca cultures. 

Worked bone--Most interesting are Chavin pieces with incised decorations. The bones are generally the long bones of mammals. They vary from 10 cm.-25 cm. in length.  
Balance weights--Flat rectangles of bone about 10 cm. in length. Chincha culture.  
Musical instruments--Quenas (flutes) and antaras (panpipes) in various shapes. Paracas, Chincha, and Ancon cultures. 

Vessels--Bowls, pots, and holders for lime (for coca chewing). Most interesting are those which are carved or pyroengraved. Produced from the Preceramic onward.  
Musical instruments--Ocarinas, small flutes, and whistles. Inca examples may have incised decoration, or decoration with cords and feathers. 

Musical instruments--Flutes (especially in Chancay culture), panpipes, and whistles. Flutes are often pyroengraved. Panpipes can have one or two tiers of pipes, which may be lashed together with colored thread. Nazca culture. 

Weaving baskets--Basketry over a cane armature, in the shape of a lidded box. Sometimes the basketry is made of several colors of fiber to work out geometric designs. Some still hold their original contents: needles, spindle whorls, spindles, balls of thread, loose thread, etc. Chancay culture. 

Musical instruments--Marine shells (Strombus galeatus, Malea ringens, etc.), some, especially those from the Formative Period, with incised decoration.  
Jewelry--Small beads and charms worked of shell, chiefly Spondylus princeps, used mainly in necklaces and pectorals. Moche, Chimu, and Inca cultures. 

The human remains included in this listing demonstrate modifications of the remains due to ritualistic practices or other intentional treatment of the deceased.   

A. Mummies   

Peruvian mummies were formed by natural mummification due to the conditions of burial; they have generally not been eviscerated. Usually found in flexed position, with extremities tied together, resulting in a fetal position. In many cases the cords used to tie the body in this position are preserved.   

B. Deformed Skulls   

Many ancient Peruvian cultures practiced cranial deformation. Such skulls are easily recognized by their unnatural shapes.   

C. Skulls Displaying Trepanation   

Trepanation is an operation performed on a skull; the resulting cuts, easily visible on a bare skull, take various forms. Cuts may be less easily distinguished if skin and hair are present:   

Principal Techniques   

a. Straight cuts: these cuts are pointed at the ends and wider in the center. Openings made this way have a polygonal shape.  
b. Cylindrical-conical openings: the openings form a discontinuous line. The resulting opening has a serrated edge.  
c. Circular: generally made by a file. The resulting hole is round or elliptical, with beveled or straight edges. This is the most common form of trepanation. 

Trophy heads can be identified by the hole made in the forehead to accommodate a carrying cord. When the skin is intact, the eyes and the mouth are held shut with cactus thorns. Finally, the occiput is missing since that is how the brain was removed when the trophy head was prepared.   

E. Shrunken Trophy Heads From the Amazon   

These heads have had the bones removed and then have been cured to shrink them. They are recognizable because they conserve all the traits of the original skin, including hair and hair follicles. The mouth is sewn shut and generally there are carrying cords attached. There may be an obvious seam to repair the cuts made when the skin was removed from the skull. Finally, the skin is thick (up to 2.5 mm.) and has a dark color. Trophy heads vary between 9.5 cm. and 15.5 cm. in height.   

F. Tattoos   

Tattooing in pre-Columbian Peru was practiced mainly on the wrists. Most common are geometric designs, including bands of triangles and rhomboids of a bluish color.   

G. False Shrunken Heads   

False shrunken heads can be recognized because they are made of the skin of a mammal, with some of the fur left where the human hair would be. The skin is first smoked, then pressed into a mold to give it a face-like shape. The eyes, nose, mouth and ears are simple bumps without real holes. Further, the skin is very thin and yellowish in color. Often the "heads" have eyebrows and moustaches formed by leaving some of the animal hair, but these features are grotesque because they appear to grow upside down.   

VII. Ethnological Objects   

A. Objects directly related to the pre-Columbian past, whose pre- Columbian design and function are maintained with some Colonial modifications or additions in technique and/or iconography.   

Colonial Indigenous Textiles   

Predominant materials: cotton and wool.  
Description: These textiles are characterized by the cut of the cloth, with the four borders or selvages finished on the same loom. Clothes are untailored and made from smaller pieces of convenient sizes which were then sewn together. Colonial indigenous textiles of the period are differentiated from pre-Columbian textiles primarily by their decoration: western motifs such as lions, heraldic emblems, and Spanish personages are incorporated into the designs; sometimes fibers distinct from cotton or wool (threads of silver, gold, and silk) are woven into the cloth; and the colors tend to be more vivid because the fabrics were made more recently. Another important characteristic of the clothing is the presence of tocapus or horizontal bands of small squares with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, phytomorphic and geometric ideographs and designs. Characteristic textiles include:   
Panels: Rectangular or square pieces of various sizes.  
Anacus: Untailored woman's dress consisting of two or three long horizontal pieces of cloth sewn together that was wound around the body and held in place with "tupus" (pins).  
Unku/Tunic: Man's shirt with an opening for the head. Sometimes has sleeves.  
Lliclla/Shoulder Mantle: Rectangular piece of cloth that women put over their shoulders and held in place by a tupu; standard size: 40'' x 45''. Generally has a tripartite design based on contrasting panels that alternate bands with decoration and bands with solid colors.  
Chumpi/Belt: A woven belt, generally using tapestry technique. 

Material: Silver, gilded silver, copper, bronze. May have inlays of precious or semi-precious stones.  
Description: Tupus were used to hold in place llicllas and ancus. They are pins with a round or elliptical head, with piercing, repousse, and incised decorations. The difference between pre-Columbian and ethnological tupus can be seen in the introduction of Western designs, for example bi-frontal eagles and heraldic motifs. 

Material: wood.  
Description: The most common form is a beakerlike cup with truncated base. After the Conquest, keros started to be decorated with pictorial scenes. The most frequently used techniques include incision, inlaying pigments in wood, and painting. Ideography includes geometric designs, figures under a rainbow (an Inca symbol), ceremonial rituals, scenes of war, and agricultural scenes. Sometimes are in the form of human or zoomorphic heads. 

Material: ceramic.  
Description: Ceremonial vessels with two or more concentric interior compartments which are linked. Often decorated with volutes representing reptiles. 

Material: ceramic.  
Description: The post-Conquest aribalos have a flat base, often using a glaze for finishing, and the decoration includes Inca and Hispanic motifs. 

Material: Stone, ceramic.  
Description: One of the characteristics of pacchas is that they have a drain which is used to sprinkle an offering on the ground. They have pictorial or sculpted relief decorations symbolizing the benefits hoped for from the ritual. 

In Colonial paintings and sculptures Western religious themes were reinterpreted by indigenous and mestizo artists who added their own images and other characteristics to create a distinct iconography.   

Specific types of objects used for religious evangelism during the Colonial period include the following:   

Sculpture   

Types of statues include:  
A three-dimensional sculpted image: In the Peruvian Colonial period these were made of maguey (a soft wood) and occasionally of cedar or walnut.  
Images made of a dough composed of sawdust, glue and plaster: After they are sculpted, figures are dressed with cloth dipped in plaster.  
Images to be dressed: These are wooden frames resembling   
mannequins, with only the head and arms sculpted in wood (cedar or maguey). The images are dressed with embroidered clothes and jewelry. Frequently other elements were added, such as teeth and false eyelashes, wigs of real hair, eyes of colored glass, and palates made of glass. 

Catholic priests provided indigenous and mestizo artists with canvases and reproductions of Western works of art, which the artists then "interpreted" with their own images and other indigenous characteristics. These may include symbolically associating Christian religious figures with indigenous divinities, or rendering the figures with Andean facial characteristics or in traditional Andean costume. In addition, each church, convent, monastery, and town venerated an effigy of its patron or tutelar saint, some of them native to Peru.   

Retables   

Retables (retablos) are architectonic structures made of stone, wood, or other material that are placed behind the altar and include attached paintings, sculptures or other religious objects.   

Liturgical Objects   

Objects Used for Mass Ritual: Chalices, cibaries, candelabras, vials for christening or consecrated oil, reliquaries, vessels for wine and water, incense burners, patens, monstrances, pelicans and crucifixes. Made out of silver, gold or gilded silver, often inlaid with pearls or precious stones. Techniques: casting, engraving, piercing, repousse, filigree.  
Fixtures for sculpted images: Areoles, crowns, scepters, halo, halos in the form of rays, and books carried by religious scholars and founders of religious orders.  
Ecclesiastical vestments: Some ecclesiastical vestments were commissioned by indigenous individuals or communities for the celebrations of their patron saint and thus are part of the religious legacy of a particular town. In such cases, the vestment has the name of the donor and of the town or church as well as the date.  
Votive Offerings: These are representations of miracles or favors received from a particular saint. They can be made of different materials, usually metal or wood, and come in a variety of forms according to the type of favor received, usually representing parts of the human body in reference to the organ healed or agricultural products in recognition of a good harvest or increase in a herd. 

Because the amendment to the Customs Regulations contained in this document imposing import restrictions on the above-listed Peruvian cultural property is being made in response to a bilateral agreement entered into in furtherance of the foreign affairs interests of the United States, pursuant to section 553(a)(1) of the Administrative Procedure Act, no notice of proposed rulemaking or public procedure is necessary. For the same reason, a delayed effective date is not required.   

Regulatory Flexibility Act   

Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply. Accordingly, this final rule is not subject to the regulatory analysis or other requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.   

Executive Order 12866  

This amendment does not meet the criteria of a "significant regulatory action" as described in E.O. 12866.   

Drafting Information  

The principal author of this document was Peter T. Lynch, Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs Service. However, personnel from other offices participated in its development.   

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 12  

Customs duties and inspections, Imports, Cultural property.   

Amendment to the Regulations Accordingly, Part 12 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 12) is amended as set forth below:   

PART 12--[AMENDED]  

1. The general authority and specific authority citation for Part 12, in part, continue to read as follows:   

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General Note 20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)), 1624;   

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Sections 12.104 through 12.104i also issued under 19 U.S.C. 2612;   

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Sec. 12.104g [Amended]  

2. In Sec. 12.104g, paragraph (a), the list of agreements imposing import restrictions on described articles of cultural property of State Parties is amended by adding "Peru" in appropriate alphabetical order under the column headed "State party", the description "Archaeological artifacts and ethnological material from Peru" under the column headed "Cultural property", and the reference "T.D. 97-- 50" under the column headed "T.D. No."   

3. In Sec. 12.104g, paragraph (b), the list of emergency actions imposing import restrictions on described articles of cultural property of State Parties is amended by removing the entry for "Peru" in its entirety.   

George J. Weise,  
Commissioner of Customs.   

Approved: June 5, 1997.   

John P. Simpson,  
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.   

[FR Doc. 97-15428 Filed 6-10-97; 8:45 am]  
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P   
  
  

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