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The Independent
07-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Peru's 3,500-year-old lost city could change America's prehistory
Archaeologists have unearthed a lost city in Peru that thrived 3,500 years ago, likely as a potential contemporary of early human societies such as the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian civilisations of the Middle East. The ancient city, named Peñico, emerged independently of these other early civilisations, and likely thrived as a trading hub, connecting coastal South America to the mountainous Andes regions through dense forests. "This urban centre was developed following the cultural tradition of Caral,' said archaeologist Ruth Shady, director of the Caral Archaeological Zone. Researchers uncovered a circular structure on a hillside in Peru's northern Barranca province, including the remains of stone and mud buildings constructed at about 600m (1,970ft) above sea level around 1,800 and 1,500 BC. Scientists suspect the ancient city's inhabitants were connected to the Caral civilisation, the oldest in the Americas, which developed 5,000 years ago. Drone footage revealed the presence of new human-made structures running parallel to previously uncovered buildings of the Caral–Supe pre-Columbian society. The height at which the structures were found suggests the ancient city's settlers strategically chose the location likely to enhance the monumentality of their buildings, protect themselves from floods and landslides, or to promote interaction and exchange. "Peñico adds to the archaeological sites that can be visited under our management: the Sacred City of Caral, the fishing town of Áspero and the agricultural fishing city of Vichama. The public will also be able to get to know this city of integration," Dr Shady said. The city's discovery is key to further understanding South American history, according to archaeologists, who suspect it emerged after the Caral civilisation was devastated by climate change. Peñico also likely acted as a node in the exchange network, linked to the extraction and circulation of Iron mineral hematite used to make a red pigment with a high symbolic importance within Andean cosmology. "They were situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle," Dr Shady told Reuters. So far, 18 constructions have been unearthed in the ancient city site, including larger and minor public buildings, and residential complexes, Peru's Ministry of Culture said in a statement. One structure labelled "B2" stands out for its sculptural reliefs, integrated into two other large public Buildings of the urban centre. The building was found to have remarkable designs of conch shell musical horns called pututus, and other instruments represented on the walls of a quadrangular room. Pututus were used in early Andean societies to transmit sound over long distances, such as to make announcements for meetings and important events, and were considered a symbol of social importance. They were considered an important ritual offering to deities, in gratitude for the benefits required and received. Researchers also found other significant artefacts in the building, including sculptures made of uncooked clay representing human-like and animal-like figures as well as ceremonial objects. They also unearthed necklaces with beads of various materials like rhodochrosite, chrysola, animal bone and clay at the building site. The presence of such artefacts indicates the building was likely one of the most important in the urban history of Peñico.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Indigenous funeral urns discovered deep in Amazon rainforest
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Seven giant funeral urns dating to pre-Columbian times have been found deep in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. A fisher who works in this little-known waterlogged area of the middle Solimões region, along the upper course of the Amazon River, made the discovery after a 50-foot-tall (15 meters) Paricarana tree fell over, revealing the urns buried beneath it. The age of the urns is currently unknown; being Pre-Columbian, they're either centuries or millennia old. But their burial place — a human-made island — is extraordinary, although it's unknown if the culture that created the islands also crafted the urns, according to archaeologists at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development (IDSM) in Brazil. Two of the larger ceramic urns — which measure up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) in diameter — contained human bones, while the others held a mixture of seeds and the remains of fish, frogs and turtles, said Geórgea Layla Holanda, an archaeologist at the IDSM who co-led the excavation. These seed and animal remains were likely part of the funeral ritual. The finds are "unprecedented," she said in a translated statement from the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The large urns do not have ceramic lids, "possibly because they were sealed with organic materials that decomposed," Holanda told Live Science. However, somewhat similar ceramic finds have been made elsewhere in the middle Solimões area. In these cases, urns would have lids "representing the head, with structures on the sides imitating limbs," she said. "The greenish clay pottery is rare but has been seen at other sites in the region," Holanda said. "We also found fragments with applied layers of clay on the exterior and painted red bands, though it is not yet possible to link these to any known ceramic styles." Related: Why are there no bridges over the Amazon River? Archaeologists already know that funerals involving urns generally included multiple stages, she added. "After death, the body was left in a basket in the river so that fish would consume the soft tissues, or it was buried in the ground," Holanda said. "Afterwards, the disarticulated [jumbled] bones were cremated and placed inside funerary urns, which symbolized a new body, a new skin. Finally, many Amazonian cultures buried these pots beneath their homes." The month-long fieldwork was planned in coordination with residents of the nearby community of São Lázaro do Arumandubinha, who first alerted researchers to the finding. "This was a community-driven demand, which understood the historical importance of these objects," Márcio Amaral, an archaeologist at IDSM who co-led the excavation, told Live Science. The São Lázaro do Arumandubinha community advised the excavators when to avoid seasonal river flooding, since the archaeological site, called Lago do Cochila (or Cochila Lake), lies in a flooded zone with no access to firm ground. To reach this remote area of the Brazilian Amazon, the research team traveled more than 24 hours by boat along the winding Amazon River from the institute's base in Tefé to the community, canoed 11 miles (18 kilometers) through flooded areas, and then walked for one hour through the forest along a trail the guides hacked out with machetes. Image 1 of 2 Excavation equipment and recovered artifacts were transported by canoe. Image 2 of 2 Researchers improvised scaffolding using wood and vines to carry out excavations in the Amazon rainforest. Because of the difficult conditions where the urns lay, excavations were carried out on a platform raised 10 feet (3 m) above the ground, built with wood and vines by community members. RELATED STORIES —12,500-year-old rock art 'canvas' in the Amazon reveals early Americans' connection with wildlife —Lasers reveal ancient settlements hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest —Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos The funeral urns were buried about 15 inches (40 cm) deep on an artificial island built by ancestral Indigenous people. These people used earth to make this island as well as others in the region, primarily to protect the community from river floods, Amaral said. Now that the excavation is done, the researchers plan to date the urns. They also have additional local reports of urns at other archaeological sites in the region, including on nearby artificial islands.
