Caral is a large settlement in the Supe Valley on the central coast of Peru. It is near an arid region between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean Cordillera .

Caral dates from as early as 2627 BCE. Construction of the city is thought to have continued until 2000 BCE, before ceramics and maize were introduced to the region. (By comparison, the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt was built between 2600 and 2480 BCE) If true, Caral would be the oldest urban center in the Americas.

Metropolis

Archaeologist Ruth Shady discovered the 5,000 year-old city of pyramids in the Peruvian desert, with its elaborate complex of temples, an amphitheatre and ordinary houses. The urban complex is spread out over 150 acres (607,000 m²) and contains plazas and residential buildings. Caral was a thriving metropolis at the same time that Egypt's great pyramids were being built.

Pirámide Mayor covers an area nearly the size of four football fields and is 60 feet (18 m) tall. Caral is the largest recorded site in the Andean region with dates older than 2000 BCE and appears to be the model for the urban design adopted by Andean civilizations that rose and fell over the span of four millennia. Since the site is a thousand years older than the earliest civilization in the Americas, it is believed that Caral may answer questions about the origins of the Inca and the development of the first cities.

Mother city

For over a century, archaeologists have been searching for what they call a mother city . Civilization began in only six areas of the world: Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Peru and Central America. In each of these regions, people transitioned from small family units to cities filled with thousands of people. Archaeologists have searched for a mother city like Caral in order to understand the first stage of city-building in human societies. Caral spawns 17 other pyramid complexes scattered across the 35 square mile (90 km²) area of the Supe Valley. Based on Caral's size and scope, Shady believes that it is a good candidate for the mother city of Incan civilization.

Music, not war

Unlike most cities, no trace of warfare at Caral has been found; no battlements, no weapons, no mutilated bodies. Shady's findings suggest it was a gentle society, built on commerce and pleasure. In one of the pyramids they uncovered 32 flutes made of pelican and condor bones and 37 cornets of deer and llama bones. They also found evidence of drug use and possibly aphrodisiacs. One find revealed the remains of a baby, wrapped and buried with a necklace made of stone beads.

References

• Shady, R. Haas, J. Creamer, W. (2001). Dating Caral, a Preceramic Site in the Supe Valley on the Central Coast of Peru. Science. 292:723-726.