Another ancient South American civilization!
The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru, is at least 5000 years old. It includes 6 pyramids, the largest of which measures 150x160 meters (about 492x525 feet).
Caral-Supe, also known simply as Caral, is one of the oldest known civilizations in the Americas, located in the Supe Valley in present-day Peru. It is remarkable for being part of the Norte Chico civilization, a complex pre-Columbian society that flourished between the 30th and 18th centuries BCE. This makes Caral one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world, contemporary with the rise of urbanism and statehood in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.
Caral is considered to be the most ancient city in the Americas, with radiocarbon dating indicating that the site was occupied approximately between 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE.
The city is known for its sophisticated urban planning and monumental architecture, including six large pyramid structures, residential areas, plazas, and an amphitheater. The largest pyramid is known as the Pirámide Mayor.
The Caral-Supe civilization was a complex society with a strong emphasis on agriculture, fishing, and trade. The absence of fortifications and weapons suggests a peaceful coexistence among the inhabitants and with their neighbors. Their economy was based on the cultivation of cotton (for fishing nets), squash, beans, and guava, and they engaged in trade with distant regions.
The people of Caral-Supe are credited with significant achievements, including the development of quipu (a system of knotted strings used for record-keeping and communication), advanced knowledge of astronomy, and hydraulic engineering techniques for irrigation.
Its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site underscores its global importance as a cultural treasure.
Wikipedia adds this:
Caral-Supe civilization
"...included as many as thirty major population centers in what is now the Caral region of north-central coastal Peru. The civilization flourished between the fourth and second millennia BC, with the formation of the first city generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga.
"Since the early 21st century, it has been recognized as the oldest-known civilization in the Americas, and as one of the six sites where civilisation separately originated in the ancient world.
As often happens, Ruth Shandy was the Peruvian Archaeologist, who partnered with an American couple, Jonathan Haas and Winifred Creamer, in hopes of obtaining more funding. However the Americans then published the find under their names, and only gave Shandy a footnote, so Shandy sued them for plagiarism.
"Haas and Creamer were cleared of the plagiarism charge by their institutions. The science advisory council of the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History rebuked Haas for press releases and web pages that gave too little credit to Shady and inflated the American couple's role as discoverers."
...and I see that there is an UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ohio now.
ReplyDeleteFor some Indian Mounds? I wonder.
DeleteYes, the Hopewell Mounds!
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