Liputan6.com, Jakarta A team of archaeologists discovered a 3,500-year-old ancient city called Penico in Barranca Province, northern Peru.
Launching the BBC on Sunday (July 6), the city is believed to have once been an important trade center that connected Pacific Ocean coastal communities with communities in the Andes mountains to the Amazon basin.
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Located approximately 200 kilometers north of Lima, at an elevation of 600 meters above sea level, Penico is estimated to have been inhabited between 1,800 and 1,500 BC.
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Interestingly, this coincides with the period when early civilizations flourished in the Middle East and Asia.
Significant findings in the old city of Penico
According to drone footage released by researchers, a round structure is visible on the hill terrace in the city center, surrounded by the remains of stone and mud buildings.
Over eight years of research, archaeologists have identified 18 structures, including ceremonial temples and residential complexes.
Not only that, but ceremonial objects, including clay statues in the shape of humans and animals, and necklaces made of beads and shells, were also found in the buildings.
Dr. Ruth Shady, the archaeologist who led the research, stated that the Penico community was strategically situated for trade with people from the coast, mountains, and forests.
Researchers say that the discovery of the ancient city of Penico also sheds light on what happened to the oldest civilization in the Americas, Caral.
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Penico's relationship with the Caral civilization
Penico is near the Supe Valley, where Caral, an ancient civilization recognized as the oldest in the Americas, was founded around 3,000 BCE.
Caral is known for 32 monuments, including large pyramids, advanced agricultural irrigation systems, and urban settlements that developed without influence from other early civilizations such as those in India, Egypt, Sumeria, or China.
According to Shady, a key figure behind the excavation of the Caral site in the 1990s, Penico's discovery is crucial to understanding what happened to the Caral civilization after it was hit by climate change.
In a press conference, Marco Machacuay, an archaeologist from Peru's Ministry of Culture, noted that Penico's significance lies in the fact that it was a continuation of Caral society.
Archaeologists' discovery of Penico is a significant addition to Peru's rich historical heritage.
The South American country is renowned for its iconic sites, including Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines.
Now, Penico serves as a new piece to understanding the traces of the oldest civilization to have existed in the Americas.