Interesting ruins abound in every part of Peru, from the environs of the capital to the most remote districts of the frontier. Within a few hours’ ride of Lima are situated the ancient necropolis of Ancón and the temple of Pachacámac, where recent excavations have brought to light many interesting prehistoric relics. In no other land do the same conditions exist as in Peru, where the archæologist has advantages in the pursuit of his investigations which the countries of the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks do not afford. Here it is possible to study, at first hand, many of the customs that prevailed long before the advent of the Spaniards, as they are still practised in the sierra, where the same feast days have been observed from time immemorial, the same methods of spinning and weaving are followed to-day as in prehistoric ages, the picturesque and brilliantly colored costumes of their ancestors are yet in vogue among the indigenes, and even a few of the wonderful dyes, which excel in permanence those of the best European markets, are made to-day by these children of an ancient race, as they were by their forefathers in centuries past. The most ancient civilization in Peru of which traces have been found up to the present time was developed in the coast region, around Nasca and Ica in the southern district and near Trujillo in the north; and the traveller whose interest in antiquities induces him to pay a visit to this country can see some of the most remarkable ruins on the American continent without the inconvenience of making a long and fatiguing overland journey, as the ocean steamers of the South Pacific call at ports in the immediate neighborhood of extensive ruins of prehistoric cities. Along the coast may also be seen shell mounds and other fragments of a primitive age, showing that in a very remote period the inhabitants subsisted almost entirely on sea food; though nothing has been found to indicate that these people were in any way related to the races that attained, at a later date, such a high degree of culture as that represented in the monuments, potteries, and particularly in the textiles, of Nasca, Pachacámac, and Trujillo. The textiles of ancient Peru are marvellous in quality, design, and coloring, and are the especial delight and admiration of the archæologist. [Illustration: TERRACES OF THE SOUTHEAST FRONT OF PACHACÁMAC, WITH CEMETERY OF SACRIFICED WOMEN.] [Illustration: A VIEW OF THE SUN TEMPLE OF PACHACÁMAC, SHOWING NICHED WALLS.]