Oldest civilization
These visitors admire the beautiful amphitheater at Caral Carbon dating of various organic materials found throughout the site indicate that the pyramids are approximately 5,000 years old! What sets Caral apart is not just its size, but also its age. The main pyramid at Caral is 60 ft (18 m) tall and almost as large as 4 football fields! Ruth Shady believes that Caral was the main focus of the civilization living in the Supe Valley. The most stunning findings at Caral include the Main Pyramid, the Amphitheater Pyramid, and the residential Quarters of the Elite. Stairs leading up to a temple excavated at Caral The remains of the Caral urban complex spreads out more than 150 acres (607,000 ms) and includes residential buildings, temples and plazas. This makes Caral one of the biggest Norte Chico sites: the Norte Chico civilization was a complex pre-Colombian society encompassing over 30 population centers in what is now known as the Norte Chico region of the north-central Peruvian coast.Ĭaral is only one of a total of 19 settlements found in the Supe Valley. In this respect, the discovery of Caral answers questions about the development of other early cities built after Caral, and the origins of civilization in the Andes.Ĭaral is approximately 60 hectares in size and was home to 3,000 inhabitants. Researchers believe that the city may have been an urban design model that was later adopted by various Andean civilizations over the course of the next millennia. Caral is however the largest known ancient city in the Andean region. For comparative purposes, the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt was built around 2600 BCE.Įxcavators described Caral as the oldest American urban center, but this claim to fame was later challenged when older ancient sites were found close by. The evidence collected suggests that Caral was inhabited some 5,000 years ago, between 26 BCE (Before the Common Era, or Before Christ).
At the time, his findings were largely ignored due to the fact that he didn’t find any typical and sought after Andean artifacts on site. Peruvian anthropologist and archaeologist, Ruth Shady, later took over the exploration of this desert city of pyramids. Paul Kosok, an American history and government professor, was one of the first to study Caral in 1948. The Caral Ruins are located about 200 km (125 miles) north of Lima in Peru.