This article with accompanying photographs appeared in the November 1998 issue of UFO Magazine.  Flowing Water Press is proud to present the text of this article as a complimentary gift to visitors to out website.





The Message of the Engraved Stones of Ica

     by

Ed Benjamin


The debate concerning the visitation of extraterrestrial beings to our planet continues in today's press, printed media, radio, television and cinema.  The key issue of hard, physical evidence is one of the central controversies surrounding this discussion.  On one side of the coin, skeptics point to the lack of physical evidence as proof that the phenomenon does not exist.  They further elaborate the theme that extraordinary events demand extraordinary proof as if to ensure that customary physical evidence will not suffice to prove the existence of visitors from other planets (or other dimensions, as the case may be).  On the other side of the coin, proponents tend to rely heavily upon circumstantial evidence (such as landing traces, etc.) and anecdotal testimony (i.e., eyewitness sighting accounts, experiencer recollections, etc.) to bolster their claims.  Recently, there has been some publicity concerning the surgical removal of implants from the feet and hands of some experiencers.  Although the jury is still out, this procedure may offer additional physical evidence which advocates of the visitor thesis may use to prove their case.


Ironically, in some cases, physical evidence that tends to provide the extraordinary proof seems to be ignored by both sides of the controversy.  The Engraved Stones of Ica, Peru appears to be one of those cases which lie in the netherworld of issues which have not been seriously investigated by members on either side.  These stones, if authentic, may offer conclusive proof that an advanced civilization (possibly extraterrestrial in origin) existed on earth hundreds of thousands of years ago, maybe millions of years ago, prior to the dawning of civilization, as we currently understand it.  Through a series of images engraved upon their surface, these stones depict the existence of a technologically advanced civilization which possessed the ability to perform not only heart transplants but transplants of brain hemispheres as well.  In addition, the glyphs inscribed upon the stones display scenes which indicate the existence of two additional continents on the earth (suggestive of the legendary continents of Lemuria and Atlantis) as well as scenes which depict some form of rocket ship and other scenes suggestive of space travel.  Other tableaus depict humanoids (presumably man) coexisting with dinosaurs.

If authentic, these stones could provide the evidence necessary to point the way toward demonstrating the existence of extraterrestrial visitors.  If not genuine, they represent an elaborate hoax carried out on a grand scale by its perpetrators.


This article does not presume to prove or disprove the authenticity of these stones but seeks to provide information regarding the existence of the stones, some of the history surrounding the discovery of the objects, and some data concerning the subjects depicted on the stones.  In addition, this article will identify the individual who has spent the last thirty years collecting and researching the stones. This man, Dr. Javier Carbrera Darquea, passionately believes in the authenticity of the Ica stones and has, at his own expense, created a museum to house and display the stones.

This author hopes that publication of this article may stimulate serious research into the Engraved Stones of Ica so that their authenticity may be proven or disproved via a serious scientific investigation.

Dr. Javier Cabrera Darquea is a physician with a practice in the city of Ica, Peru.  Ica is located in the southern part of Peru, about 360 kilometers south of Lima, in the Ocucaje desert.  Ica is situated about 150-200 kilometers from the village of Nazca, Peru (noted for the Nazca Lines, which crisscross the desert pampas).

Even though the region lies in close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the topography of the entire region is an arid desert where no moisture reaches the ground.  The prevailing winds across that portion of South America range from East to West and the Andes Mountains suck every drop of moisture from the air before the winds blow it west to the sea.  Over the last half century, a thriving business has exploded as huaqueros or grave robbers unearthed ancient burial sites to retrieve perfectly preserved artifacts to resell.  This art of finding burial sites and liberating the artifacts has become an occupation passed along from father to son.


In search of artifacts, some huaqueros allegedly came upon a cave heretofore hidden.  Apparently, these stones were unearthed when the Ica River, on its course from the Andes to the Pacific, flooded.  This flooding washed away the desert sand and revealed, in the zone of Ocucaje, a cave containing a number of these stones.  The huaqueros collected a number of these stones and began selling them as souvenirs to some of the more affluent members of the city of Ica.

In May 1966, a close friend presented Dr. Cabrera Darquea with one of these stones as a gift.  The friend thought it might make a pretty paperweight for the doctor's desk.  Upon receiving the ornament, Dr. Cabrera Darquea recalled that many years earlier, around 1936, while a young man preparing to go to college, his father had unearthed a stone (engraved in a like manner) when clearing some land for planting in a plot near Ica.  Dr. Carbrera Darquea, struck by the similarity between the two stones, soon discovered that other individuals among the affluent members of Ica society possessed quantities of these stones.  He visited friends to view the stones which they had collected and began to purchase stones on his own.  Early on, he acquired 5,000 of these remarkable stones. 

The huaquero generally credited with the discovery of the stones is a peasant called Don Mendoza who resides in the village of Ocucaje.  In his quest Dr. Cabrera Darquea has acquired more than 11,000 engraved stones and presumably Don Mendoza and his associates have acquired many Peruvian soles (the monetary unit of Peru) as a result.  When discussing these transactions, Dr. Cabrera Darquea smiles and addresses the issue as to whether his quest to acquire more and more stones led to a cottage industry of faking the stones between Don Mendoza and his associates.  Obviously, he feels the stones are genuine.


The issue becomes complicated when one understands that liberating artifacts and selling them is a crime under Peruvian law.  During the early seventies, many huaqueros claimed they had engraved the stones themselves (even if they did not) in order to avoid arrest and prosecution.  The biggest problem with the thesis that the stones were manufactured by the huaqueros is the fact that the oxidation of the engraving on the stones indicates that the markings have been there a very long time.  In addition, when the stones first surfaced in 1961, the huaqueros were willing to escort archeologists to one of the sites to show them that the stones were indeed embedded beneath a layer of saltpeter in some strata which indicated they had been there hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of years.  Unfortunately, the offer was not accepted and apparently considering the threat of prosecution, the offer was not repeated.  

This author, with the help of a guide, tracked down Don Mendoza in his desert village located about 100 kilometers north of Ica.  In his humble adobe home, a yellowing newspaper on the wall in a place of honor displays an article which proclaims a youthful Don Mendoza as the individual who discovered (or manufactured) the stones.  Don Mendoza related to this reporter that he continues to make occasional forays into the desert and collects some engraved stones similar to the stones possessed by Dr. Cabrera Darquea.  Don Mendoza then sells these stones to passing tourists.  He affirms that he sells the stones as he finds them after using white paint to accentuate the lines.


After collecting these stones, the doctor from Ica began his search to understand the meaning and significance of the objects.  His findings indicate that the stones depict the existence of a technologically superior civilization hundreds of thousands of years, possibly millions of years, prior to the beginnings of modern civilization as we have come to understand it.  This theory naturally contradicts generally accepted archeological findings.

The stones range in size from stones which measure six inches in length by two to three inches in width and one to two inches in height to stones which measure approximately two yards in length by two yards in width and two yards in height.  They range in weight from 15-20 grams to 500 kilograms each.  All of the stones appear to be cleaned and highly polished with a wax of some kind, apparently to preserve the markings engraved upon them and to display them better.  Dr. Cabrera Darquea believes the huaqueros applied boot wax to give the stones luster and to enhance their value.

The engravings range from scenes on some stones which depict mankind (a humanoid figure resembling man) coexisting with and supposedly interacting with dinosaurs to other stones which depict complex medical procedures.  Through a series of stones viewed sequentially, the observer is able to view in exacting detail a heart transplant operation.  Escorting visitors through the scenes, Dr. Cabrera Darquea carefully points out one scene where one individual is apparently administering anesthesia to other individuals.  In other related scenes, you can view the removal of a heart from the donor and subsequently the placement of the donated organ into the recipient.  Dr. Cabrera Darquea points out that the scenes are anatomically correct.


In another series, the viewer is able to watch an operation unfold in which an individual (presumably a surgeon of some type) transplants one of the hemispheres of the brain from one person to another.

Two massive boulders illustrate a view of the earth which contains two extra continents.  Dr. Cabrera Darquea believes these stones depict the way the earth was millions of years ago and that these continents are the legendary lost continents of Lemuria and Atlantis.  

After Dr. Cabrera Darquea amassed a number of these stones, he turned them over to the University of Peru for study and analysis.  The University, however, did not undertake any serious investigation into the stones.  After some merriment, the University placed the objects into extended storage in a basement.  A dismayed Dr. Cabrera Darquea reclaimed the stones and opened a museum dedicated to the stones in the front three rooms of his ancestral home located on the main square of Ica.

There visitors can accompany the doctor as he conducts a guided tour of his collection most afternoons.  He recounts part of the tale telling how he came by the stones, walks the visitors through the sequence of the objects depicting the transplant operations, and displays other artifacts he has collected which suggest the presence of extraterrestrial visitors (i.e., gold charms, circa 1000 B.C. which depict astronauts, space shuttles, etc.).

The doctor then describes his research into archeological matters which indicate possible discoveries of human bone fragments in the same strata as dinosaur bones.

How old are the stones?  Dr. Carbrera Darquea had the stones analyzed during the late sixties and the early seventies by a mining engineer and subsequently at the University of Bonn.  In addition, another researcher had tests conducted by the Universidad Nacional de Ingeneira mining faculty.  The analysis indicated that the stones were probably formed during the Mesozoic Era (about 230 million years ago) and the oxidation covering the engravings on the stones indicate the images were made in ancient times.  The other researcher did not conclude that this evidence presented proof that the stones were not carved by the huaqueros themselves in an effort to corner a segment of the antiquities' market in that particular region of Peru.  Dr. Cabrera Darquea has conducted other analyses which convince him the stones are in fact dated to the era of the dinosaurs.  For example, he has conducted an analysis of the cosmology of the heavens as depicted on the stones and concluded that the scenes accurately display the stars as viewed from Earth millions of years ago.  

Are the stones real?  It is clear, when listening to Dr. Cabrera Darquea, that he is sincere and passionate in his desire to prove the authenticity of the stones.  One could possibly make a case that he is behind a hoax, because he definitely possesses the requisite medical knowledge to ensure the stones which depict medical procedures reflect the proper anatomical features.  However, it appears unlikely that any single individual would spend more than thirty years and many resources to perpetuate a hoax which has been so poorly received and which apparently has resulted in a great deal of ridicule aimed at him. There is some recent evidence, such as references contained in the book, Forbidden Archeology by Michael A. Cremo and Richard L. Thompson, which suggest the possibility of the coexistence of man and dinosaurs.  

In addition, two weeks after visiting Dr. Cabrera Darquea, this author visited the Brunning Museum near Chicalyo, Peru.  This museum is dedicated to the Moche culture founded, as legend tells us, by an extraordinary humanoid known as "the Man Who Come From The Sea".  A statue depicting the likeness of this godlike individual, who came walking out of the Pacific Ocean to found and lead the culture, stands in front of the museum and resembles a man dressed in a diving suit (or space suit).  Dr. Cabrera Darquea possesses a gold figurine in his museum which is similar to this statue.  The museum also contains a small statue on display which depicts a figure remarkably similar to modern descriptions of extraterrestrial visitors known as the Greys.  Four weeks after visiting Ica, this reporter also traveled to the Gold Museum in La Paz, Bolivia where golden objects, fashioned sometime before the birth of Christ, resemble flying discs, astronauts, and space shuttles. 

These facts do not prove that the Engraved Stones of Ica are genuine or not, but this author believes that enough clues exist, enough questions remain unanswered to warrant a serious investigation into the validity of these stones.  It is easy to dismiss them as the product of a well-contrived hoax; however, an impartial study may resolve the issue conclusively.  If the stones are a hoax, then the stones will pass into obscurity with the passing of Dr. Cabrera Darquea from this mortal coil.  If authentic, then their message demands to be heard and the message of the Engraved Stones of Ica may very well be -- "We are here!"             
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