original building, was found to be filled with graves, the worshippers of Pachacámac having come to this shrine as the Mohammedans flocked to Mecca centuries later, feeling that they had gained the greatest of all blessings if they could but be buried within the sacred city. It is estimated that thirty thousand of the faithful were interred in the cemetery of Pachacámac. An examination of the _huacas_ found in the various strata of these ruins shows the influence of five separate periods on the culture of this region, and has enabled the archæologist to determine the antiquity of Pachacámac relative to that of other ancient ruins, such as those of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia and the more recent edifices of Incaic origin. It is regarded as certain that the oldest temple of Pachacámac represents an earlier period than does Tiahuanaco, though the latter antedates by many centuries the monuments of Inca civilization. The art displayed in the shape and design of some of the vessels taken from the cemetery of Pachacámac bears a resemblance, in the earlier period, to that seen in the _huacas_ of Tiahuanaco, and, in its latest expression, to the art of the Incaic civilization; this would seem to indicate that at least three successive cultures dominated the whole of ancient Peru, with long periods of transition intervening, when the country was divided and governed by numerous races of more or less advanced culture. [Illustration: RUINS OF THE CONVENT, PACHACÁMAC.] [Illustration: HUACAS FROM THE GRAVES OF PACHACÁMAC.] [Illustration: PRE-INCAIC POTTERY FROM PACHACÁMAC.]