Could women have ruled in Peru before? According to archaeologists in Peru, they discovered a tomb belonging to a pre-Hispanic priestess, which they say confirms their beliefs that powerful women ruled the region 1,200 years ago.

Discovered in an area called La Libertad in Peru's northern Chepan province, she belonged to a civilization called the Moche. Researchers uncovered the Lady of Cao in the same region, and it was thought that men held high positions in ancient Peru, until the discovery of Lady of Cao.

The new priestess tomb makes it clear that the Lady of Cao is far from an anomaly. According to archaeological project director Luis Jaime Castillo:
This find makes it clear that women didn't just run rituals in this area but governed here and were queens of Mochica society... It is the eighth priestess to be discovered. Our excavations have only turned up tombs with women, never men.
The priestess's burial chamber was covered in copper plates in the forms of waves and seabirds, and a mask and a knife were found near her neck.

So its not just the Amazon after all. [Phys.org]