| 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.
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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.
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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.
Please direct media inquiries to:
GHF Press press@globalheritagefund.org
or (650) 325 7520
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