Peru's abundant ruins feel the squeeze of urbanization

LIMA, Peru (AP) — From her small home near two golf courses and three slums, Gianina Rojas gazes up at a crumbling adobe pyramid, remnants of the vast Inca empire that flourished more than six centuries ago.

Like many people in modern-day Peru, Rojas was born and raised among Incan sites that were built before the Spanish colonized South America.

Now 26, she recalls treasure hunting as a child — hiding away pieces of ceramic pots, textile scraps and even human bones.

"Lima is full of places like this," she said.

The pyramid is just one of thousands of historic sites, or "huacas," that are being crowded out or destroyed as roads, schools, residential neighborhoods and stadiums are built to meet the population's growing demands.