Pre-Incan Treasures of Peru on Exhibit

A rich cache of artifacts found in burial chambers of high officials of the Moche culture, a pre-Incan civilization that dominated Peru from 100 to 800 A.D., will be on display at UCLA’s Fowler Museum of Cultural History through Jan. 2.

The exhibit, “Royal Tombs of Sipan,” includes gold, silver and turquoise objects found in the 1,700-year-old burial chambers in a small pyramid near Sipan, a village on the north coast of Peru. The artifacts provide valuable information about the Moche, who had no written language and disappeared before the Spaniards arrived in the 1530s.

Christopher B. Donnan, museum director and a Moche scholar, identified the burial chamber of the highest-ranking Moche priest by comparing objects found in the tomb with Moche ceramics.

The exhibit includes cutaway murals to show how objects were placed in the tombs, an audio tour that takes visitors through the daily lives and complex ceremonies of the Moche, and a life-size representation of the warrior priest in full regalia. Call (310) 206-9161.

ARCHEOLOGY

* Richard M. Leventhal, director of UCLA’s Institute of Archeology, will discuss discoveries at a Mayan archeological dig in Central America at the UCLA Extension archeology open house at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the UCLA Extension building in Westwood. Instructors and staff will also answer questions about the “Royals Tombs of Sipan.” Call (310) 206-8456.

* Orange Coast College will host a one-day symposium on the latest excavations at the Giza Plateau in Egypt. “Egypt Reveals Its Secrets” will be led by Egyptian archeologist Zahi Hawass, director general of the Giza Plateau and Saqqara Archeological sites for the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, at 9 a.m. Sunday. Call (714) 432-5880.

ENVIRONMENT

* Joe Cassmassi, senior meteorologist for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, will discuss “Air Quality Trends in the South Coast Air Basin” at the American Meteorological Society meeting at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the AQMD headquarters in Diamond Bar. Call Steve LaDochy, (213) 343-2220 or 343-2222.

ORNITHOLOGY

* Eaton Canyon Nature Center will offer a course on the woodpeckers of the San Gabriels with an evening classroom session Oct. 14 and a morning field study Oct. 17. The classroom session will be at the Nature Center. Registration is required; call (818) 398-5420.

HEALTH

* To commemorate Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s Hospital and Health Center will offer free prostate exams and blood tests today and Sept. 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and a community education program on advances in diagnosis and treatment at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Registration is required; call (310) 315-6107.