Peru

Peru is a country in western South America, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the south-east, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. In addition to being known as the cradle of the Inca empire, Peru is the home of many indigenous ethnic groups.

Etymology

The word Peru is derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama, in the early 16th century. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans. Thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Peru.

History of Peru

The earliest evidence of human presence in Peruvian territory has been dated to approximately 9,000 BCE. The oldest known complex society in Peru and the Americas, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3000 and 1800 BCE. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures such as Chavin, Paracas, Mochica, Nazca, Wari, and Chimú. In the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using techniques such as irrigation and Terrace (agriculture); camelid husbandry and fishing were also important. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution (cultural anthropology because these societies had no notion of market or money.

Archaeological evidence present in sites located in the caves of Piquimachay (Ayacucho), Chivateros, Lauricocha, Paijan, and Toquepala indicates that hunters and gatherers inhabited Peru twenty thousand years ago. Some of the oldest civilizations appeared circa 6000 BC in the coastal provinces of Chilca and Paracas, and in the highland province of Callejón de Huaylas.

Over the following three thousand years, inhabitants switched from nomadic lifestyles to cultivating land, as evidence from sites such as Kotosh and Huaca Prieta demonstrates. Cultivation of plants such as corn and cotton (Gossypium Barbadense) began, as well as the domestication of animals such as the wild ancestors of the llama, the alpaca, and the guinea pig. Inhabitants practiced domestic crafts such as spinning and knitting of cotton and wool, basketry, and pottery.

Jat connections

Hukum Singh Panwar writes about presence of Jats in the region that - The next important discovery consequent upon our identification of the Jats is that the different races, viz., the Getae, Thyssagetae, Massagetae, Allans, Asii, Ioatii, Zanthii or Xanthii, Dahae, Parnis or Panis, Parthians, Yueh-Chihs, Ephthalites and Kushanas, etc. (who have so far been considered as separate and unrelated races by historians) are actually the offshoots of the three major sections of the Sakas, who were not a distinct race from the Aryans. The only feature where they differ in their taxonomy was their bachycephaly, a feature they they developed by residing in higher altitudes for thousands of years after their banishment or migrations from Sapta Sindhu. Their history, according to our inquiry, goes as far back as 8566 B.C. and their spread as far away as Scandinavia in Europe, and (via Alaskan Isthmus to Canada, U.S.A., Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru in south America besides Burma, Cambodia and Thailand in the east.

Hukum Singh Panwar also writes that It may not be out of place to mention here that, as confirmed by N.S. Chaudhry⁵² on the authority of Siva-Stotra, one of the generals of Kartikeya (Skand) carried the name Jata. It is a well-known fact that in the Deva-Asura war Kartikeya (Skand) commanded the forces of the former, and it is quite plausible to believe that the warriors (later known to Panini as Ayuddhajivi ganas), led by the general called Jata, became famous as Jata in history. We have also every reason to believe that Panini, when he used the phrase jata jhata Samghate (जट झट संघाते) (denoting Union or federation or confederation or binding together, etc.), took his cue from the Jata general's role in fomenting unity in the warriors against the Asuras. One of their tribes known as Amal gave their name to America (Kephart, op.cit., pp.468, 473, 521). Another tribe probably Virkas went as far down as Chile an Peru where they popularized the festival of Ramlila which is celebrated there as Rama-Sitva festival (Pococke, Ind. In Greece, pp. 250f).

Hukum Singh Panwar gives a list of tribes with reference to E. Pococke , who migrated from India to Peru and other countries. This includes Purus/Virks (Jat clans) from Panjab went to Chille & Peru, Andes where they were known as Parur/Peruvian/Virkucha in Peru.

Churu in Peru

Churu is a city and district in Rajasthan. There is another city named Churu in the Peru. The details of Churu (Peru) are as under :

Alternative Name: Churu Name Type: Native Area / State: Cusco

Coordinates & Location type:

Area Type: Populated place Location Type: Populated Place

Latitude: -14.08667 Longitude: -71.02306 (Decimal degrees)

Latitude (DMS): 14° 5' 12 S Longitude (DMS): 71° 1' 23 W (Degrees, minutes and seconds)

References

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