Archaeologists have announced the discovery of an ancient city in the Barranca province of northern Peru.
The 3,500-year-old city, named Peñico, is believed to have functioned as a crucial trading center, connecting early communities along the Pacific coast with those in the Andes mountains and the Amazon basin.
Located approximately 200km north of Lima, the site is situated about 600 meters (1,970 feet) above sea level and is thought to have been established between 1,800 and 1,500 BC – contemporaneous with the flourishing of early civilizations in the Middle East and Asia.
Researchers suggest this discovery offers valuable insights into the evolution of the Caral civilization, considered the oldest in the Americas.
Drone footage released by researchers reveals a circular structure at the city’s center, positioned on a hillside terrace and surrounded by the remnants of stone and mud buildings.
Eight years of investigation at the site have uncovered 18 structures, including ceremonial temples and residential complexes.
Within these buildings, researchers discovered ceremonial objects, clay sculptures depicting human and animal figures, and necklaces crafted from beads and seashells.
Peñico’s location is near the Supe valley, where Caral, recognized as the oldest known civilization in the Americas, was established around 3,000 BC, some 5,000 years ago.
Caral features 32 monuments, including large pyramid structures, sophisticated irrigation agriculture, and urban settlements, and is believed to have developed independently of other contemporary early civilizations in India, Egypt, Sumeria, and China.
Dr. Ruth Shady, the archaeologist who spearheaded the recent research into Peñico and the excavation of Caral in the 1990s, emphasized the discovery’s significance in understanding the fate of the Caral civilization after its decline due to climate change.
Dr. Shady told Reuters that the Peñico community was “situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle.”
At a press conference unveiling the findings on Thursday, archaeologist Marco Machacuay, a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, stated that Peñico’s importance lies in its role as a continuation of the Caral society.
Peru is renowned for housing some of the Americas’ most important archaeological sites, including the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the Andes and the enigmatic Nazca Lines etched into the desert along the central coast.
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