Archaeologists have announced the discovery of the 3,500-year-old ancient city of Penico in Peru’s northern Barranca province, which is believed to have served as a key trading hub linking early communities on the Pacific coast with those living in the Andes and Amazon.
Located about 200 km north of Lima, the site is believed to have been founded between 1,800. and 1,500. BC, around the same time that early civilizations flourished in the Middle East and Asia. Researchers say the discovery sheds light on what happened to the oldest civilization in the Americas – the Royal.
During eight years of research at the site, 18 structures were discovered, including temples and residential complexes. Drone footage released by researchers shows a circular structure on a hillside in the center of the city, surrounded by the remains of stone and mud buildings.
At the site, researchers discovered ceremonial objects, clay sculptures of human and animal figures, and necklaces made of beads and shells.
Dr Ruth Shady, an archaeologist who led the recent study of Penjico and the excavation of Caral in the 1990s, said the discovery was important for understanding what happened to the Caral civilization after it was destroyed by climate change.
Penjico was “situated in a strategic position for trade, for exchange with coastal, highland and jungle societies,” Shady told Reuters.
Penjico is located near where Caral, recognized as the oldest known civilization in the Americas, was founded 5,000 years ago, around 3,000 BC, in the Supa Valley of Peru.
Caral has 32 monuments, including large pyramidal structures, sophisticated irrigated agriculture and urban settlements. It is believed to have developed in isolation from other comparable early civilizations in India, Egypt, Sumer and China.
Peru is home to many of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the Americas, including the fortified Inca city of Machu Picchu in the Andes and the mysterious Nazca Lines carved into the desert along the central coast.
