Archaeology

Peru’s matriarch historian profiled

María Rostworowski de Diez Canseco, one of Peru’s most accomplished and celebrated historians, sat down for an interview with daily La Republic. The result is an excellent profile of the 92-year-old matriarch of Peruvian historical study.

Enlace Nacional followed up a day later with its own treatment of Rostworowski, digging out a segment produced more than a decade ago by Juana Abanto for the “Amiga” TV program.

Rostorowski “is important above all because she dares to shatter myths about this country’s history that were always repeated without any type of reflection,” said Cecilia Blondet — exectuvie director of Proética, former Minister for the Promotion of the Woman and Human Development of Peru and also a noteworthy historical scholar.

Rostorowski was a pioneer in shattering the myth that the Inca Empire ineffectually succumbed to the cunning and technological superiority of a handful of Spaniards armed with weapons armor tooled from Toledo steel.

She explored the rich role of women in Peruvian history, defining two feminine archetypes, the Mama Oclla, or earth mother who raised children and kept house, and the Mama Huaca, the warrior mother who led armies.

“There are many of them in our history,” Rostorowski says. “I would say an example are the mothers who run the communal food kitchens, the Glass of Milk programs. Elena Moyano is the prototype of the Mama Oclla, tireless women who defend their children, who defend their situation.”

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