Lima, Jan 30 (EFE) .- A new pyramidal building was found in the vicinity of Caral, the pre-Hispanic city considered world heritage for housing the oldest civilization in America, with about 5,000 years old, the Peruvian authorities reported Thursday.
The building is located in the urban center of Chupacigarro, which is contemporary of Caral, in the Supe Valley area, in the north of the Lima region, the Ministry of Culture detailed.
As part of the expansion of archaeological investigations in the area, the multidisciplinary team of the Caral archaeological zone discovered the construction in the so -called ‘Sector F’ of Chupacigarro, one kilometer west west of Caral.
“The recent archaeological explorations allowed to identify this new building, which was covered by a small set of dried huarangos and weeds. When removing these shrubs, the stones walls were visualized that make up at least three overlapping platforms,” explained the information.
In the walls highlights large stones placed vertically, called ‘Huancas’, which indicate the corners of the quadrangular building, as well as a central ladder that allowed to reach the top.
Culture argued that the investigations in this new building will allow the team led by archaeologist Ruth Shady, the Discoverer of Caral, to know the complete urban trace of the Urban Center of Chupacigarro, which will complement the value of this settlement so that it can be visited next to Caral.
Chupacigarro is in a small ravine and is part, together with the sacred city of Caral, of a major system that covers several archaeological settlements in the Supe Valley, belonging to the Caral Civilization (3000-1800 before our era).
In the ravine, which was a natural communication route with the coast, 12 structures considered public or ceremonial are scattered, located in the peaks of small hills, around a central space.
The experts point out that the buildings differ in size, orientation and characteristics, apparently by functional factors, and on the periphery architecture considered residential has been discovered, with the small buildings chaired by a main one, which presents a sunken circular square, typical of that historical period.
“These indicators allow us to affirm the existence of a small urban center with several public and secular buildings, which covers an area of 38.59 hectares,” said the information.
Chupacigarro, he added, was located in a strategic geographical place, due to its proximity to the low valley and the coast, where it obtained marine products, and its settlers had access to the riverside forest, to puquia or springs, to stone quarries and cultivation fields.
“The settlement was not visible from the Valley, so it must have been part of an extension of the sacred city of Caral, perhaps linked to a more private or religious function,” culture stressed.
One of the most representative findings on the site is a Geoglifo of 62.1 meters by 30.3 meters, which is only visible from a strategic point in the city of Chupacigarro.
The great drawing shows a profile head of the northern pre -Hispanic style of Sechín and was drawn with cornerstones, with the face oriented to the east, the closed eye, the open mouth and a representation of the hair beaten by the wind or ‘blood’ that flows from the head. EFE
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