Archaeologists recently revealed that they uncovered a 3,500-year old city in Peru that was probably a market hub, and that once connected Pacific coast communities with those in the Andes and Amazon, according to a report in Reuters. It was actively thriving around the same time as early Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations.
Researchers released drone footage showing the city center with a large circular structure situated on a hillside terrace that holds the remnants of stone and mud buildings.
The urban center is known as Peñico and was founded between 1,800 and 1,500 B.C., experts said. It is near the location where the Caral civilization, said to be the oldest in the Americas first appeared 5,000 years ago.
Ruth Shady, the lead archaeologist, told Reuters that the newly unveiled city is important because experts believe it cropped up after the Caral civilization was wiped out by climate change. “They were situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle,” she said.
Structure at an excavation site in the complex of Vichama, Huaura region, Peru with cadaveric bodies, humanized toads and snakes engraved on the wall. Photo by Cris Bouroncle/AFP via Getty Images.
Another archaeologist, Marco Machacuay, who is a researcher with Peru’s ministry of culture, emphasized Peñico’s significance because it represents the continuation of the Caral community.
Following eight years of research, the experts classified as many as 18 structures including ceremonial temples and residential housing complexes. Sculptural reliefs and works showing the pututu, a conch shell trumpet can also be seen on some of the walls. Researchers also found clay sculptures of human and animal figures, as well as necklaces created with beads and seashells.
According to UNESCO, the 626-hectare archaeological site of The Sacred City of Caral-Supe is situated on a dry desert terrace overlooking the green valley of the Supe river. “Exceptionally well-preserved, the site is impressive in terms of its design and the complexity of its architectural, especially its monumental stone and earthen platform mounts and sunken circular courts,” according to the website.
Credit: Artnet
