huaquero

Etymology

From Spanish huaquero.

Why this word is great

HUAQUERO — [Noun] A person who illegally excavates ancient graves or archaeological sites in Latin America, typically for profit. From Spanish huaquero, derived from Quechua wak'a ("sacred object or place"), a term once reverent, now hollowed by greed. Unlike "tomb raider" (a Hollywood specter, all whips and fedoras) or "archaeologist" (methodical, gloved, state-sanctioned), the huaquero is a thief of silence, working under moonlight with a shovel and a hunger. It is the crunch of pottery shards underfoot, the glint of gold wrenched from a mummy’s grasp, the ledger where priceless history is reduced to a smuggler’s price—a trade in ghosts, leaving only holes in the earth and holes in time.

noun

  1. A graverobber in parts of Latin America.“The huaqueros watched the plane circle and return to the north. Trucks picked up the soldiers on the highway. The sand remained scarred by their prints.”