When someone asks you about Peru’s most famous archaeological site, the first name that comes to mind is Machu Picchu. The legendary citadel was built by the Inca Empire in the 15th century, some 600 years ago. This answer gives us an idea and context for the latest surprising find off the coast of Peru, where a group of archaeologists have stumbled upon some historic remains.
A theater and a temple. A team led by Field Museum scientist Luis Muro Ynoñán made the discovery. They unearthed the remains of what appears to be a 4,000-year-old temple and theater on the coast—in other words, an archaeological site that predates Machu Picchu by about 3,500 years.
Early religions. As Ynoñán explains, the site’s first analyses already provide important clues. Without going any further, the date of the find suggests unmistakable evidence of some of the first religious spaces created by humans.
Archaeologists Luis Muro Ynoñán next to the archaeological site.
This isn’t an insignificant detail since we know little about how and under what circumstances complex belief systems emerged in the Andes. “This discovery tells us about the early origins of religion in Peru,” the archaeologist says.
The looting was the beginning of it all. The discovery of the temple and the theater was a coincidence. In 2023, the researchers learned about the new archaeological site, La Otra Banda, Cerro Las Animas, when the local government called to warn them about the looting that was taking place near the historic town of Zaña. The idea was to study the area before looters destroyed it.
So, a year later, in early 2024, a working group that included Dumbarton Oaks, Archaeology in Action, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru began excavating the area. First, they selected a 33-by-33-foot area, slowly removing the sediment accumulated over millennia.
Only 6.5 feet. That’s exactly how far we’ve been from discovering a treasure of this magnitude. There, the researchers found the first signs of ancient walls made of mud and clay. “It was so surprising that these very ancient structures were so close to the modern surface,” Ynoñán states.
That first clue put the entire team on alert. Further excavations in the area revealed something much bigger: evidence that the site once housed a temple. “We think that a large temple was built into the side of the mountain, and we’ve found one section of it,” the archaeologist adds.
And a theater. In addition to this first piece of the puzzle, thought to be a large temple, the archaeologists stumbled upon a second archaeological treasure: a theater. How? As they point out, there’s little doubt about its significance thousands of years ago. The researchers uncovered an area behind the stage and a staircase leading to a stage-like platform. “This could have been used to perform ritual acts in front of a selected audience,” the expert suggests.
Mythological animal. Flanking one of the stairs of the small theater, they found some clay panels decorated with elaborately carved designs depicting a bird-like creature, “It’s a very beautiful and, at the same time, intriguing design of a mythological creature. It’s like an anthropomorphic bird, but with some reptilian features,” the researcher describes.
In his work, he states that this strange figure could provide essential clues about the temple’s construction date and how it relates to other ancient temples built by the first groups of people of the Andes.
The Initial Period. This term refers to life in Peru about 4,000 years ago. Although the name may suggest it, the Initial Period wasn’t the first period where communities coexisted in the region. Societies in the region existed 15,000 years ago, around 5000-3000 B.C., during the so-called Preceramic Period.
In this regard, Ynoñán recalls that archeologists have found other images of similar mythological creatures in Peru in the Initial Period. “It’s important because it’s when we first start to see evidence of an institutionalized religion in Peru. The bird creature at this temple resembles a figure known from the Chavín region nearly 500 years later. This new site could help reveal the origins of this religion,” he says.
Signs of paintings. Archaeologists also found several murals. The chemical composition of the pigments may reveal where they came from and with whom the ancient people traded. In any case, we’ll have to wait for the team to send samples for carbon dating analysis to confirm the site’s age.
In any case, we’re on the verge of a discovery with implications we may not yet be able to measure. For now, it seems clear that the discovery means that 4,000 years ago there were already complex religious systems and even ideas about the cosmos on the coast of Peru. “It gives us insight into the human mind because religion is still used as a tool for political purposes today,” Ynoñán said.
This article was written by Miguel Jorge and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
Images | Ucupe Cultural Landscape Archaeological Project | Brate
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