n 1987, Victor Flores Capuñay, a curandero (traditional healer) from Trujillo, Peru, placed nine ancient ceram- ics and six stone 昀椀gurines on a mesa—an assemblage of Iritual objects—in order to cure his patient’s “soul loss,” or “bad-air ailments.” These disorders were believed to be caused by powerful huacas, referring to the ancient ruins 1 that dot the landscape of Peru’s North Coast (昀椀g. 1). The ancient objects joined a diverse group of shells, swords, and crosses, as well as other items of recent manufac- ture, which Flores Capuñay carefully arranged to har- ness the power of gentiles (pagan ancestors), nature, and Christianity to help him 昀椀ght maladies, promote good fortune, and combat the work of other sorcerers. These rituals, performed as battles between the healer and forces of evil, continue today in Peru, challenging contem- porary notions about the stark division between past and present and reminding us how ancient and modern beliefs intersect in sometimes unexpected ways. In Andean communities today, ceramic vessels gathered from huacas or passed down through families are considered to be active agents or entities that have substantial power. Pots found at archaeological sites, for example, can be held responsible for causing illness; in one case, a curandero identi昀椀ed a certain pot as the source of 2 a huaquero’s (looter’s) malady. The vessel was initially in demand by curanderos, who wanted the pot to help them in their mesas, but they soon discovered that it was too strong—or too evil—to be controlled. To avoid more harm, the huaquero was forced to return the pot to its huaca and o昀昀er a guinea pig sacri昀椀ce to avoid losing his life. The practice of removing goods from burial sites in Peru is not a recent phenomenon; indeed, it can be traced to Indigenous pre-conquest times.3 Tomb looting acceler- ated in the colonial era, however, largely with the purpose of extracting ornaments of gold and silver, and then wid- ened in the late eighteenth century to include ceramics as both individuals and institutions sought to meet a desire to understand an ancient past: part of a broader impulse during the Enlightenment and beyond to reveal and contextualize human origins. Looting continued in later centuries, driven by di昀昀erent factors, including the rise of the art market in the last 150 years. These practices dev- 4 astated thousands of ancient sites across Peru and in the