First American City

2001/04/27 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Historia

As announced in the journal Science, the place called Caral was the most developed of its time. It is located about 200 km north of Lima and 23 km from the Pacific. At the best time, eight neighborhoods of common houses and a walled residence, two circular squares and six large platforms of stone quarry and river. On these platforms, as a symbol of a probably centralized religion, were buildings with numerous ceremonial rooms.

The archaeologist of the National University of Lima, Ruth Sclis, and her team have used the 14 carbon proga to determine the date of these constructions. After the study of the 18 samples collected in excavation, a. c. They say they correspond to the year 2627. Therefore, the first cities were built 800 years earlier than previously thought. In addition, they have been able to know data of interest about local society, especially considering what these platforms represent.

On the other hand, Caral questions the theory that Peruvian civilizations were born on the coast. According to this theory, the abundant fish and marine molluscs settled on the coast as sources of accessible and appreciated food. There they developed a cultured architecture and created complex societies that later moved into the interior.

But Caral is several centuries older than these other cities, so these coastal cities would be just the satellites of an interior monumental site. However, they still do not know why Caral emerged in this place, but researchers believe that this valley was an ideal place for agriculture.