June 2011, Featured Articles, Discoveries

Ancient Peru: The First Cities

By Kimberly Munro   Fri, Mar 18, 2011

The expansive, culturally rich civilizations that existed in the Americas at the time of European contact came as a great surprise to the early Spanish explorers. Most notable were the Aztec empire in Central Mexico and the Incan empire in Peru, both of which controlled great expanses of land and millions of people. The Inca Empire encompassed what is now modern day Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, and Chile and left its mark with impressive architecture, elaborate road networks and innovative agricultural developments. The scenic backdrop of Machu Picchu, the sacred lost city of the Incas, stirs the imagination and fills the mind with wonder and amazement as the modern day symbol of the Inca Empire's accomplishments. Unfortunately, most discussions about Peruvian archaeology begin and end with the Inca. What most people don't realize is that the Incas only reigned for approximately two centuries. Several cultures laid the groundwork for the rise of the Inca, cultures of which most people have never heard . The Wari, Nazca, Tiwanaku, Chimu, Moche, and Chavin all had striking achievements of their own, upon which the Inca were able to build. Because of the multitude of Pre-Incan cultures in Peru, this article is only one of a series that will spotlight the different cultures and time periods of Peru. It is a primer to the earliest civilizations of Peru in the Late Pre-Ceramic period - the time period which gave rise to the first cities and earliest civilizations in the New World.............

Chronologically, archaeologists have divided prehistory in Peru into the Pre-Ceramic (13,000 BC-1800 BC), Initial Period (1800 BC - 800 BC), Early Horizon (800 BC - 750 AD), Middle Horizon (750 AD - 1000 AD), and Late Horizon (1000 AD -1476 AD). Previously, it was believed that the earliest Peruvian civilizations were tied to the emergence of irrigation agriculture and the introduction of ceramics dating to the Initial Period. However, new discoveries, innovative field techniques and advances in radio-carbon dating have pushed that date back to the Late Pre-Ceramic Period (4000 BC-3000 BC).

The Late Pre-Ceramic is characterized by the emergence of monumental public architecture, basic floodplain farming of local varieties of gourds, squash, lima and kidney beans, as well as the cultivation of cotton, which led to an abundant use of cotton textiles. Traditionally, ceramics, irrigation agriculture, and monumental architecture were believed to have been the chief markers of sedentary civilizations and complex societies with socio-political organizational structure. However, archaeologists in Peru were shocked when their excavations at the earliest structures failed to produce any evidence of ceramics. How could such large monuments be constructed by societies lacking in ceramic technology and reliance on agriculture? The answer to this intriguing question may lie in the location of these early sites.

Coastal Beginnings

Surprisingly, the earliest Peruvian cities did not spring up in the lush highlands of the Andes where the Incan empire would begin, nor did they develop in the fertile river valleys between the Andes and Pacific coast where later complex civilizations would take root. To date, the earliest cities in the New World have been discovered along the northern and central Peruvian coast. The coast of Peru is an arid environment, broken up by green verdant valleys created by rivers flowing down from the mountains. The fishing resources of Peru are among the richest in the world. In 1960, fishing off the coast yielded 1680 kg per hectare, which is almost a thousand times the average of worldwide ocean productivity (Burger, 1992). 

In 1975, archaeologist Michael Moseley developed the Maritime Hypothesis. This hypothesis proposed "...that thousands of years ago the rich Andean fishery sustained the growth of early littoral populations, the rise of large sedentary communities, the formation of complex societies and established the foundations of coastal civilization "(Moseley, 2004). Moseley originally dated his hypothesis with work he had done at the site of Aspero, located along the Supe river, directly on the coast. The site of Aspero is 13 hectares and has 17 mounds (6 of which were centrally located pyramids forming a central plaza) measuring up to 10m high (Feldman 1980). The two largest mounds, Huaca de los Sacrificos and Huaca de los Idolos were decorated with clay friezes, had rooms over 10m square, and stone walls over a meter thick.

El Paraiso is another site located on the coast (only 2km from the coast). Found along the Chillon river, El Paraiso was home to the largest Pre-Ceramic period monument. The site, which is 60 hectares, includes 13 mounds. Seven of these mounds make up a central group, which form a U-shaped plaza. This U-shaped form has been suggested to be the prototype for later, Initial Period architecture, which include U-shaped complexes (Burger, 1992). Both El Paraiso and Aspero are especially significant for supporting the Martime hypothesis. They illustrate that large complex civilizations can flourish without reliance on agriculture. 

In 2001, the dates for a site called Caral stunned the archaeological community. Caral was dated to 2800 BC, at the time making it the oldest city in the New World. Caral, like Aspero, is located in the Supe valley; however, it is not located directly on the coast, but rather 16km from the shore. The site of Caral is over 65 hectares, and includes a sunken circular plaza, 25 platform mounds measuring between 10 and 18m high, a central plaza, architecture which was arranged symmetrically, and numerous stairways. Eighteen similar sites dating to the same time period can also be found in the Supe Valley, though none are as large as Caral. At its peak, Caral's population has been estimated at 3,000 people. Because of its size and architecture, Caral is considered by some archaeologists to be the "capitol" city of what is now known as the "Caral-Supe Civilization." This civilization includes the 18 other Pre-ceramic sites in the Supe valley and other similarly constructed sites in surrounding valleys.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aerial image of the site of Caral and its structures.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady Solis, who has worked on Caral and in the Supe Valley since 1994, has theorized that Caral may have originally started as a colony of Aspero. Caral's inland location made it especially productive for farming cotton and other gourds, beans, and chillies. Cotton was extremely important to coastal societies, used for their fishing nets, textiles, clothing, containers and shicra bags (see photo below). Their productive farming allowed them to trade with Aspero and the other coastal sites for salt, mollusks, sardines and anchovies. Caral's location was also situated for exotic trade with the highlands, making Caral so productive that it was able to outgrow Aspero in size and influence.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shicras, or woven fiber bags have been found in many of the ruin structures. The shicras were woven from cotton and used to carry rocks and fill to build the monuments. The stones were not dumped out of the bags however once brought to the site, the bags were then left in place in construction (much like a sand bag is used today). The majority of the carbon dates have come from dating these organic shicra bags. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

In 2007 radio-carbon dates again rocked the archaeological community when a similar site located just south of Caral in the Huaura valley suggested that Caral may not be the oldest city in the New World. The site, called Bandurria, has similar architecture to Caral (and 18 other similar sites in the Supe Valley) including a sunken circular plaza, stairways and other structures which were constructed in a symmetrical pattern. According to Alejandro Chu Barrera, the director of the Archaeological Project of Bandurria, radio-carbon analysis has dated the site to 3200 BC. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunken plaza at Bandurria. Image courtesy Global Heritage Network.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Locations of the Pre-Ceramic sites of Aspero, Caral, and Bandurria and their relationship to each other. Map courtesy of author.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

........And Highland Beginnings

Though the earliest cities in Peru have been located on or near the coast, contemporaneous late Pre-Ceramic sites have also been discovered in the highlands. The architectural style and painted reliefs of these sites point to an entirely different tradition (known as the Mito Tradition). The site of Kotosh (2000-1800BC), located in the Central Highlands, has several different architectural features. These features include interior wall niches and mud-relief friezes which decorate the temple walls. These decorations feature coiled serpents and mud sculptures with two pairs of arms crossed. These mud sculptures are the earliest examples of sculptures in the Americas and give Kotosh the nickname "The Temple of the Crossed Hands." The crossed arm designs on the temple walls are believed to be the earliest example of "duality," a central theme which was represented in Andean Ideology through the time of the Incas. One set of arms has the left hand crossed over the right while the other pair on the opposite wall have the right hand over the left. It has been suggested that one pair of arms may represent the feminine because of their smaller size, while the larger arms represent the masculine.

Mud sculpture examples at "The Temple of the Crossed Hands." Image courtesy of Wikimedia commons

The temples at Kotosh are also lacking in the sunken and rounded plaza features of the coastal sites. Several similar sites, including La Galgada, Piruru, and Wairajirca have a comparable architectural theme.The material culture recovered by archaeologists can be explained by an underlying religious ideology, which archaeologists have dubbed "The Kotosh Religious Tradition." It is believed the architectural features of Kotosh and similar sites were constructed primarily for religious purposes, specifically for the burning of different offerings. Structures were purposefully covered after offerings were burned. This practice, now called "temple entombment," is demonstrated in all sites representing the Kotosh Religious Tradition.

Though there are two distinctive cultures that make up the earliest sites which feature monumental architecture in Peru, there is evidence that these cultures interacted and traded. Fishing in the highland rivers is relatively unproductive, making the maritime resources of the coast a commodity in highland sites. The coastal sites also had access to salt, which has been found in burial offerings in several highland sites. In return, highland staple foods such as cuy (guinea pig) remains, quinoa, maize and potato have been found at coastal sites.

The Supe valley lays claim to the earliest cities, but the Chicama and Rimac Valleys have the largest concentration of early corporate constructions (Moseley 1978). Due to their proximity to the coast and an abundance of maritime resources, these valleys became the cradle of the earliest civilizations in the New World. Between 3000-1800 BC large architectural complexes sprung up in coastal Peru while a contemporaneous yet different complex developed in the highlands. These impressive acts of construction are markers for complex and organized societies. The earliest dates for these cities have been radio-carbon dated to 3200 BC (around the time the pyramids of Egypt were first being constructed). Not only do these monuments represent the societies' religious ideologies, but they also represent a high degree of planning and an organized labor force. These civilizations, which are the earliest in the New World, laid the ground work for the extraordinary cultures which were to come.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Location of Pre-Ceramic sites and valleys. Courtesy of author.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where Can I Visit these Sites?

Most of the sites discussed in this article can be visited in Peru through tour guides or groups, and there are thousands of other sites worth visiting which were not mentioned. Peru has over 100,000 identified sites of archaeological interest, only 2,800 of which have been officially marked as tourist attractions. Funneling visitors away from Machu-Picchu and toward other equally impressive sites will help protect Machu-Picchu's famous ruins from the thousands of visitors it receives a day. Tourists visiting archaeological sites in other regions of Peru will also help spread the economic benefits of tourism to the poorer areas of the country.

If you can't afford to travel and/or want to get a better picture of some of the sites discussed in this article, you can pay a virtual visit to Caral on Google Earth. The coordinates for Caral are 10°53'31.79"S Latitude, 77°31'18.63"W Longitude. Make sure you have the "3D feature" clicked on the layers tab and you can start exploring one of the oldest cities in the New World!

*Cover Image is of a temple mound at the site of Caral. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

By Kimberly Munro

Kimberly Munro is an archaeologist with seven years experience working for the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service. With excavation experience throughout the Southeastern United States and the Northern Coast and Central Highlands of Peru, Kimberly received her B.A. in Anthropology and Religious Studies, and her M.S. in Geographic Information Sciences from Florida State University. She has been involved with the PIARA Archaeological Field School located in the highlands of Peru since 2011, and will be returning to work as a crew chief for PIARA in the summer of 2012. With interests in GIS applications in Archaeology, remote sensing, landscape and settlement patterns, and coastal/highland interaction in central Peru, Kimberly will be starting work on her PhD at Louisiana State University in the fall of 2012.

More Featured Articles