Looted Remains and a Debunked Alien Hoax: Peru’s Cultural Heritage at Risk

To the point

Looting of a Nazca region cave near Cusco collided with a sensational alien hoax when remains surfaced globally, as Jaime Maussan claimed extraterrestrials in a September 2023 Mexican session but experts debunked them as dolls made from animal bones joined with glue, Leandro Rivera stating he removed about 200 sets that have since been smuggled internationally, and Evelyn Centurion warning that looting continues and urging local-government collaboration as online black markets boosted by COVID-19 fuel illicit trade, with Peru pursuing a dedicated task force and stiffer penalties and showing how a high-profile hoax masks a real threat to cultural heritage worldwide.