HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF ANDEAN VILLAGERS BY
CARL DUISBERG
In 1971, my good friend Carl Duisberg traveled through the remote villages of Peru and Bolivia, capturing candid portraits of the people and their daily lives, still essentially untouched by the modern world. Some of the most poignant images are those of the children: their joy, and their innocence, in the face of a life filled with hunger, cold, and poverty, as well as pride in traditions dating back hundreds of years, to the time of the mighty Inca Empire.
(Please note: The images in this post are the original work of Carl Duisberg. Like all the images on this site, they are protected by copyright, and may NOT be duplicated for commercial purposes.)
The photographs in these two slide shows were taken in a variety of locations: the market town of Chinchero, near Cusco, Pero; in Puno, Peru, and on Taquile, a Peruvian island in Lake Titicaca. The rest were taken in Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarabuco, and Todos Santos, all small towns in Bolivia. All images date back to 1971.
Click any photo to stop the slides from advancing, and expand the images to full screen
If you’ve enjoyed seeing these historic photographs, you should check out the rest of the series:
Portraits of a People, Lost in Time; features a random assortment of Carl’s best images from Peru and Bolivia, all dating back to 1971;
Puno Day Festival: A Centuries-Old Tradition on the Shores of Lake Titicaca; the annual festival that includes a reenactent of the birth of the Inca Empire, held each November in the city of Puno; a great series of photos, taken in 1971
Children of the Altiplano; features portraits of children in Andean villages, most with their mothers;
Chinchero: The Place Where Rainbows are Born; a fantastic series of pictures taken in the Chinchero market in 1971;
and
An Overabundance of Bowlers: A Brief History of the Headgear on the High Plateau; Which is exactly that!
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This is an interactive Table of Contents. Click the pictures to open the pages.
Long Ago and Far Away: South America in the Early 1970's
Portraits of a People, Lost in Time
50 year old portraits of Andean natives in their traditional dress, taken in mountain villages not yet tainted by outside influences.
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Puno Day Festival
Historic photos of Peru's Puno Day festival, taken in 1971. Included is the reenactment of the birth of the Inca empire on the shore of Lake Titicaca, with costumed dancers lining the streets of Puno.
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Children of the Altiplano
Candid portraits of Andean villagers taken in Peru and Bolivia in 1971. This set of photographs focuses on the children: their joy, and their innocence.
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Chinchero: The Place Where Rainbows are Born
Candid portraits of villagers in traditional dress, taken in Chinchero, Peru in 1971, before the outside world intruded.
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An Overabundance of Bowlers: A Brief History of Headgear on the High Plateau
Andean natives have adapted to the intensity of the high altitude sun by taking a very simple precaution: everyone, almost without exception, wears a hat when they venture outdoors.
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Machu Picchu Sunrise
The five of us had Machu Picchu entirely to ourselves for at least twelve hours. It was like a dream, and a very fine dream, at that.
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Tairona Gold: The Rape of Bahia Concha
It was the Tairona gold that triggered a blood lust in the Spanish invaders, ultimately causing the destruction of the entire Tairona civilization. That cycle was repeated in modern times, when the lust for Tairona gold infected the guaqueros, causing the destruction of the last refuge of the Tairona ancestors, in one final humiliation, one last indignity: the RAPE of Bahia Concha!
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Tairona Gold: The Curse of the Coiled Serpent
Paul dug with his hands then, finally sticking his arm into a hollow space, pulling out a dark object. Grinning at me from the bottom of his hole, he handed up what he’d found. A round blackware vessel representing a coiled serpent, open in the middle, with a spout at the top of the head. I’d seen a lot of Tairona artifacts, but I’d never seen anything remotely like that one.
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In the Vale of the Stone Monkeys: Peril and Petroglyphs in the Colombian Jungle
El Manco was easy to spot; he had embraced his defining handicap, a right arm that had been severed above the elbow, and that wasn’t even his only problem. He was also missing his right eye, nothing there but an empty socket and an ugly knot of scar tissue. “Tough old bird” doesn’t begin to describe a hardscrabble character like Manco; he had a face with creases like a roadmap straight to his own personal version of hell.
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Magnificent Monoliths: The Enigmatic Idols of San Agustin
At least 200 monolithic statues are preserved within the boundaries of the San Agustin Archaeological Park, along with 20 monumental burial mounds. Each statue is unique, but taken as a group they provide a fascinating overview of the rituals and beliefs of one of the earliest complex societies in the Americas. The enigmatic idols of San Agustin are truly unmatched among the world’s ancient monuments.
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There's nothing like a good road trip. Whether you're flying solo or with your family, on a motorcycle or in an RV, across your state or across the country, the important thing is that you're out there, away from your town, your work, your routine, meeting new people, seeing new sights, building the best kind of memories while living your life to the fullest.
Are you a veteran road tripper who loves grand vistas, or someone who's never done it, but would love to give it a try? Either way, you should consider making the Southwestern U.S. the scene of your own next adventure.
A few years ago I wrote a book about road trips in Arizona and New Mexico that's a lot like this website, packed with interesting information, and illustrated with beautiful photographs. Check it out! You can find it on Amazon, and at all other major booksellers.
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