The Bronze Gears of Peru
Not much is known about the mysterious bronze gears of Peru, also known as the the Bronze wheels or discs of Peru, except they are considered to be what is known as an out of place artifact. This typically means that the gears would not have been expected to exist in the time they did, they would be ‘out of place’ hence their classification as an ancient out of place artifact.
While there is incredibly little information on the gears themselves, there is a picture which shows in good detail their appearance. There are six discs in total in the photo and we can clearly see that four of the six do in fact have what looks like gear teeth. What is impossible to tell from the photo is the actual depth of the discs which would give a much clearer indication of their use.
The Bronze Gears of Peru
The actual use of the bronze gears of Peru
While many look at the bronze gears of Peru as potential gears in a larger mechanical machine, the general consensus is that the gears are in fact sun discs. The two discs on the right of the photo do look much more traditionally like sun discs which backs up this theory to a certain degree.
The first mention of the bronze gears of Peru
The gears were told to have been first mentioned by a professor called Rafael Larco Hoyle in his book ‘Peru’, however we were unable to locate a copy of this book to confirm this mention.
Alternative names for the gears of peru
While we know them here as the bronze gears of Peru, these ancient artifacts have also been referred to as the sun discs of Peru, and the Peruvian bronze discs. The latter names are probably the most accurate description for these artifacts as we do believe they were indeed sun discs.
Summary of the Peruvian bronze gears
Close up of the Bronze Gears of Peru
It’s really a shame there isn’t more detailed information on these ancient artifacts. The bronze gears while often referred to as an out of place object, might in fact not be. It’s quite possible the gears of Peru are not really gears, but sun discs. Whatever your outcome on the usage of these intriguing artifacts, there is no denying the mysterious appeal of the gears of Peru.