High in the Ayacucho region of Peru, a joint international team has discovered a cache of ceremonial masks crafted from the ossified scales of giant armadillos. These masks, associated with the Huarpa culture, date back to approximately 100 CE. They were found within a subterranean stone chamber used for the storage of ritual regalia for the 'Pachamama Raymi' or Earth-Mother harvest festivals, which celebrated the end of the potato growing season.
The masks are uniquely designed with articulated jaws and are decorated with pigments derived from volcanic minerals. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the regional diversity of Andean performance traditions, suggesting that local fauna played a more significant role in religious symbolism than previously thought. The chamber also contained stone mortars used for grinding ritual pigments, which still retain vibrant red and yellow hues.