Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Ica Stones

Issue #32: August 1981

In the Peruvian city of Ica, Dr. Javier Cabrera Darquea has assembled a collection of more than fifteen thousand engraved stones. The images on these stones are extraordinary: humans hunting dinosaurs, performing complex surgeries, studying the stars through telescopes, examining the continents from space.

If authentic, the Ica stones would overturn everything we believe about human history. They would prove that an advanced civilisation existed millions of years ago, contemporary with creatures long extinct.

But authentication is precisely the problem.

The Discovery

The stones began appearing in the 1960s. Local farmers near Ica found them, they claimed, in caves and ancient tombs along the coast. The stones ranged in size from pebbles to boulders, and each was engraved with images of remarkable sophistication.

Dr. Cabrera, a physician with an interest in archaeology, began purchasing stones in 1966. He was immediately struck by their implications. The images showed surgical techniques that seemed beyond ancient capabilities. They depicted astronomical observations that required advanced technology. And they showed humans interacting with dinosaurs.

Cabrera dedicated his life to collecting and studying the stones. He opened a museum in Ica to display them. He wrote books arguing that they proved the existence of a lost civilisation that predated the Ice Age.

The Images

The stones depict a bewildering range of subjects:

Dinosaurs: Stegosaurs, pterodactyls, and creatures resembling Tyrannosaurus rex appear alongside human figures. Humans are shown riding dinosaurs, hunting them, and apparently domesticating them.

Surgery: Detailed scenes show what appear to be organ transplants, including heart and brain surgeries. Patients are shown connected to tubes and monitored by observers.

Astronomy: Maps of the Earth as seen from space appear on some stones. Others show celestial objects that may represent planets or stars.

Technology: Magnifying glasses, telescopes, and other instruments are depicted in the hands of ancient figures.

If these images are authentic, they represent knowledge that humans should not have possessed until millions of years after the dinosaurs were extinct.

The Controversy

From the beginning, the Ica stones have faced scepticism.

In 1977, during a BBC documentary, one of the farmers who had supplied stones to Dr. Cabrera admitted that he had carved them himself. Basilio Uschuya and his wife Irma demonstrated the technique: using a dentist’s drill and shoe polish to age the engravings.

Uschuya claimed he had forged thousands of stones. He was motivated, he said, by poverty and by Dr. Cabrera’s willingness to pay for any stone that matched his interests.

The confession should have ended the controversy. But Cabrera and his supporters argue that Uschuya recanted under government pressure. They point out that some stones show accurate anatomical and palaeontological details that an unschooled farmer could not have known.

The Evidence

Scientific analysis of the stones has produced mixed results.

The stones themselves are andesite, a volcanic rock common to the region. They are certainly old as geological objects. But the engravings on them could be of any age.

Examination of the patina (the weathered surface layer) on some stones suggests considerable age. Other stones show fresh surfaces that indicate recent carving. The collection appears to include both ancient and modern examples.

Some images are surprisingly accurate. Dinosaurs are depicted with features that were not widely known in the 1960s but have since been confirmed by palaeontology. Surgical scenes show instruments that resemble those developed for modern operations.

But accuracy does not prove antiquity. A skilled forger with access to reference materials could recreate such images.

Alternative Theories

Those who believe in the stones’ authenticity propose several explanations:

Ancient Civilisation: A technologically advanced culture existed millions of years ago and was destroyed by some cataclysm. The Ica stones are its surviving records.

Time Travel: The stones were created by time travellers who visited the distant past and recorded their observations.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Alien visitors shared knowledge with ancient humans, including information about dinosaurs that had been observed elsewhere or at other times.

Sceptics counter that all of these theories require extraordinary evidence, which the stones do not provide.

The Question Remains

The Ica stones occupy an uncomfortable position in the study of anomalous artefacts. They are too numerous to dismiss easily but too controversial to accept uncritically.

If even a fraction of the collection is genuine, our understanding of human history requires radical revision. If they are all forgeries, they represent one of the most ambitious and elaborate hoaxes ever perpetrated.

Dr. Cabrera continues to defend the stones with unwavering conviction. His museum in Ica remains open, and the debate shows no sign of resolution.

Perhaps the truth will emerge as more sophisticated dating techniques are developed. Or perhaps the Ica stones will remain what they have always been: a mystery that resists easy answers, a challenge to our assumptions about the past, and a reminder that our knowledge is always incomplete.

Readers with expertise in archaeology or palaeontology who may shed light on the Ica stones are invited to contact our research department.