Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient city in northern Peru that sheds light on early civilisations in the Middle East and Asia. Researchers said the city of Peñico, which is thought to date back 3,500 years, was a key trading hub between communities living in the Andes mountains and the Amazon basin. The site, which has been the subject of an eight-year excavation and research project by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, is thought to have been founded between 1,800 and 1,500 BC.
The near-decade-long investigation uncovered 18 structures, including the remnants of temples and residential complexes, large pyramid structures, and sophisticated irrigation agriculture. Inside buildings in the former city, archaeologists also found bead and seashell necklaces and clay sculptures of human and animal figures.
Archaeologist Ruth Shady said Peñico developed in the “cultural tradition” of Caral, the oldest known civilisation in the Americas, which lies nearby in the Supe valley and was founded in around 3,000 BC.
Researchers believe Caral developed alongside early civilisations in Egypt, India, Sumeria and China – but, unlike its contemporaries, in complete isolation.
Ms Shady, who also led an excavation of Caral in the 1990s, added that the newly discovered city marked a step forward in early human integration.
“Due to its strategic location, it connected settlements on the coast and in the Supe and Huaura mountains, as well as those living in the Andean-Amazonian territory and the high Andean region,” she said.
Drone footage of the site shows a circular structure on a north Peruvian hillside, dotted with the remains of stone and mud buildings, located around 600 metres above sea level.
Peru’s Ministry of Culture has opened Peñico for public exploration, alongside Caral, its ancient fishing village of Áspero and agricultural community Vichama – giving visitors from around the globe the opportunity to discover the “city of integration” for themselves.
This month, while installing new pipes in Peru’s capital city, Lima, utility workers stumbled across an unexpected but very exciting pre-Inca burial. The grave belonged to a child between 10 and 15 who had remained undisturbed for some 1,000 years.
