Hunting tools dating back to more than 11,000 years ago have been found inside the caves
of Pachacamac, Telarmachay, Junin, and Lauricocha.[1] Some of the oldest civilizations
appeared circa 6000 BC in the coastal provinces of Chilca and Paracas, and in the
highland province of Callejón de Huaylas. Over the next three thousand years, inhabitants
switched from nomadic lifestyles to cultivating land, as evidenced from sites such
as Jiskairumoko, Kotosh, and Huaca Prieta. Cultivation of plants such
as corn and cotton (Gossypium barbadense) began, as well as the domestication of
animals such as the wild ancestors of the llama, the alpaca and the guinea pig, as seen in
the 6000 BC dated Camelid relief paintings in the Mollepunko caves in Callalli. Inhabitants
practiced spinning and knitting of cotton and wool, basketry, and pottery.
As these inhabitants became sedentary, farming allowed them to build settlements. As a
result, new societies emerged along the coast and in the Andean mountains. The first
known city in the Americas was Caral, located in the Supe Valley 200 km north of Lima. It
was built in approximately 2500 BC.[2]
The remnants of this civilization, also known as Norte Chico, consists of approximately 30
pyramidal structures built up in receding terraces ending in a flat roof; some of them
measuring up to 20 meters in height. Caral was considered one of the cradles of
civilization.[2]
In the early 21st century, archeologists discovered new evidence of ancient pre-
Ceramic complex cultures. In 2005, Tom D. Dillehay and his team announced the discovery
of three irrigation canals that were 5400 years old, and a possible fourth that was 6700
years old in the Zaña Valley in northern Peru. This was the evidence of community
agricultural improvements that occurred at a much earlier date than previously believed. [3]
In 2006, Robert Benfer and a research team discovered a 4200-year-
old observatory at Buena Vista, a site in the Andes several kilometers north of present-
day Lima. They believe the observatory was related to the society's reliance on agriculture
and understanding of the seasons. The site includes the oldest three-dimensional
sculptures found thus far in South America.[4] In 2007, the archaeologist Walter Alva and his
team found a 4000-year-old temple with painted murals at Ventarrón, in the
northwest Lambayeque region. The temple contained ceremonial offerings gained from an
exchange with Peruvian jungle societies, as well as those from the Ecuador a coast.[5] Such
finds show sophisticated, monumental construction requiring large-scale organization of
labor, suggesting that hierarchical complex cultures arose in South America much earlier
than scholars had thought.
Many other civilizations developed and were absorbed by the most powerful ones such
as Kotosh; Chavin; Paracas; Lima; Nasca; Moche; Tiwanaku; Wari; Lambayeque; Chimu a
nd Chincha, among others. The Paracas culture emerged on the southern coast around
300 BC. They are known for their use of vicuña fibers instead of just cotton to produce
fine textiles—innovations that did not reach the northern coast of Peru until centuries later.
Coastal cultures such as the Moche and Nazca flourished from about 100 BC to about AD
700: the Moche produced impressive metalwork, as well as some of the finest pottery seen
in the ancient world, while the Nazca are known for their textiles and the enigmatic Nazca
lines.
These coastal cultures eventually began to decline as a result of recurring el Niño floods
and droughts. In consequence, the Huari and Tiwanaku, who dwelt inland in the Andes,
became the predominant cultures of the region encompassing much of modern-day Peru
and Bolivia. They were succeeded by powerful city-states such as Chancay, Sipan,
and Cajamarca, and two empires: Chimor and Chachapoyas. These cultures developed
relatively advanced techniques of cultivation, gold and silver craft, pottery, metallurgy,
and knitting. Around 700 BC, they appear to have developed systems of social organization
that were the precursors of the Inca civilization.
In the highlands, both the Tiahuanaco culture, near Lake Titicaca in both Peru and Bolivia,
and the Wari culture, near the present-day city of Ayacucho, developed large urban
settlements and wide-ranging state systems between 500 and 1000 AD. [6]
Not all Andean cultures were willing to offer their loyalty to the Incas as they expanded their
empire because many were openly hostile. The people of the Chachapoyas culture were
an example of this, but the Inca eventually conquered and integrated them into their
empire.
Archaeologists led by Gabriel Prieto revealed the largest mass child sacrifice with more
than 140 children skeleton and 200 Llamas dating to the Chimú culture after he was
informed that some children had found bones in a dune nearby Prieto’s fieldwork in 2011. [7]
[8]
According to the researchers' notes in the study, there was cut marks on the sterna, or
breastbones some of the children and the llamas. Children’s faces were smeared with a red
pigment during the ceremony before their chests had been cut open, most likely to remove
their hearts. Remains showed that these kids came from different regions and when the
children and llamas were sacrificed, the area was drenched with water. [9]
“We have to remember that the Chimú had a very different world view than Westerners
today. They also had very different concepts about death and the role each person plays in
the cosmos, perhaps the victims went willingly as messengers to their gods, or perhaps
Chimú society believed this was the only way to save more people from destruction” said
anthropologists Ryan Williams.[10]
In September 2021, archaeologists announced the remains of eight 800-year-old bodies
nearby ancient town of Chilca. Bodies included adults and children who were covered in
plant material before being buried. Some dishes and musical instruments were uncovered
as well. Researchers think remains belong to the Chilca culture, which was apart from other
pre-Hispanic cultures in the area.[11][12][13]
