thumb|One of the Ica stones, featuring depictions of various different [[Dinosaur|dinosaurs|upright=1.3]]
The Ica stones are a collection of andesite stones with engraved motifs created as a work of art in the 1960s by Peruvian farmer Basilio Uschuya and others in the Ica Province. The artifacts, many of which notably depict non-avian dinosaurs and modern technology in a style imitating Mesoamerican art, were originally sold as having genuine pre-Columbian origin, before Uschuya and other farmers admitted to having created them for profit, leading some to describe the stones as hoaxes. a type of volcanic rock. They vary considerably in size, from very small (a few centimetres across) to boulders over half a metre across. The majority of the stones are relatively small. scratched through the oxidized surface.
History
Background
Archaeological discoveries show evidence of Peruvian cultures going back for several thousand years. At some later stages, the whole of modern Peru was united into a single political and cultural unit, culminating in the Inca Empire, followed by the Spanish conquest. At other stages, areas such as the Ica Valley, a habitable region separated from others by desert, developed distinctive cultures of their own.
Engraved stones have been known from the region since long before the Ica stones were reported. The earliest known reports of similar artifacts are records by the Jesuit missionary Padre Simón, who travelled Peru during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the early and middle sixteenth century. amount of Ica stones are known today, with the total number estimated to be around 50,000
Cabrera's collection
thumb|A collection of Ica stones surrounding a portrait of Javier Cabrera Darquea|upright=1.2|left
The most widely known collection of Ica stones is that of the physician Javier Cabrera Darquea (1924–2001).
In order to expand his collection Cabrera reached out to the brothers Carlos and Pablo Soldi, collectors of pre-Inca Peruvian artifacts. The Soldis reportedly had a large collection of similar engraved stones, according to them found in the Ocucaje region, and sold 341 of them to Cabrera. to showcase his collection. Pezzia continued to search. In the San Evaristo cemetery in Toma Luz, he reported the find of an engraved stone of similar size to the previous one, depicting a fish. The context reportedly dated the tomb to the Middle Horizon ( 600–1000 A.D.). In a nearby grave in the same cemetery, Pezzia reported the find of a stone depicting a llama. Pezzia published his findings in 1968, including drawings and descriptions. Some of the images appear to show a dinosaur lifecycle in which larvae hatched from dinosaur eggs before undergoing a form of metamorphosis to grow into the various adult forms; highly inconsistent with real dinosaur lifecycles.
Humans and technology
thumb|Stone supposedly depicting [[Neurosurgery|brain surgery]]
The humans depicted on the stones, supposedly belonging to some unknown ancient Peruvian culture, are reminiscent of Incas or Aztecs. and to be hoaxes created for the purpose of earning money off of tourist buyers. The popularization of the stones made Cabrera famous in pseudoscientific circles but also ruined his professional credibility and family life and brought him ridicule in the press and the contempt of scientists. The stones are also sometimes presented as evidence by "mytho-historians" who believe that some ancient myths should be understood as accurate and literal historical accounts. the idea that some are authentic. The number of stones could for instance be interpreted as evidence against their authenticity since it might indicate large amounts of them having been made for the purposes of selling them to tourists.