Archeologists in Peru unveil 3,500-year-old city that linked coast and Andes
Archeologists on Thursday unveiled a 3,500-year-old city in Peru that likely served as a trading hub linking Pacific coast cultures with those in the Andes and Amazon, flourishing around the same time as early civilizations in the Middle East and Asia.
Drone footage released by researchers shows the city center is marked by a circular structure on a hillside terrace, with remains of stone and mud buildings constructed some 600 metres (1,970 feet) above sea level.
The urban center, named Peñico, is located in the northern Barranca province and was founded between 1,800 and 1,500 BC. It is close to where the Caral civilization, the oldest in the Americas, developed 5,000 years ago.
Caral, comprised of 32 monumental structures, is considered a contemporary of civilizations in Egypt, India, Sumeria and China. However, unlike them, it developed in complete isolation, according to researchers.
Ruth Shady, the archeologist who led the research into Peñico, said the newly unveiled city is key because experts believe it emerged after the Caral civilization was devastated by climate change.
'They were situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle,' Shady said.
Archeologist Marco Machacuay, a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, said at a news conference that Peñico's importance lies in it being the continuation of the Caral society.
After eight years of studies, researchers have identified up to 18 structures in Penico, including ceremonial temples and residential complexes.
The walls of a central plaza stand out for their sculptural reliefs and depictions of the pututu, a conch shell trumpet whose sound carries over long distances.
In other buildings, researchers found clay sculptures of human and animal figures, ceremonial objects and necklaces made from beads and seashells, they added.
Peru is a center of ancient cultures and home to archeological sites such as the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Cusco and the mysterious Nazca lines located in the desert region along the country's central coast.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino and Carlos Valdez for Reuters TV; Editing by David Gregorio)
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CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Archeologists in Peru unveil 3,500-year-old city that linked coast and Andes
The Peruvian flag flies outside an office building in the financial district of Lima, Peru. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg Archeologists on Thursday unveiled a 3,500-year-old city in Peru that likely served as a trading hub linking Pacific coast cultures with those in the Andes and Amazon, flourishing around the same time as early civilizations in the Middle East and Asia. Drone footage released by researchers shows the city center is marked by a circular structure on a hillside terrace, with remains of stone and mud buildings constructed some 600 metres (1,970 feet) above sea level. The urban center, named Peñico, is located in the northern Barranca province and was founded between 1,800 and 1,500 BC. It is close to where the Caral civilization, the oldest in the Americas, developed 5,000 years ago. Caral, comprised of 32 monumental structures, is considered a contemporary of civilizations in Egypt, India, Sumeria and China. However, unlike them, it developed in complete isolation, according to researchers. Ruth Shady, the archeologist who led the research into Peñico, said the newly unveiled city is key because experts believe it emerged after the Caral civilization was devastated by climate change. 'They were situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle,' Shady said. Archeologist Marco Machacuay, a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, said at a news conference that Peñico's importance lies in it being the continuation of the Caral society. After eight years of studies, researchers have identified up to 18 structures in Penico, including ceremonial temples and residential complexes. The walls of a central plaza stand out for their sculptural reliefs and depictions of the pututu, a conch shell trumpet whose sound carries over long distances. In other buildings, researchers found clay sculptures of human and animal figures, ceremonial objects and necklaces made from beads and seashells, they added. Peru is a center of ancient cultures and home to archeological sites such as the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Cusco and the mysterious Nazca lines located in the desert region along the country's central coast. (Reporting by Marco Aquino and Carlos Valdez for Reuters TV; Editing by David Gregorio)
CBC
20-06-2025
- CBC
Mercury poisoning in Peru's Amazon found in nearly 80 per cent of villagers in recent study
Indigenous and riverine communities in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon have "chronic exposure" to mercury, according to a new study — and experts say the biggest culprit is gold mining in the region. The test results released this month by the Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation at Wake Forest University (CINCIA) in the United States show nearly 80 per cent of the people tested late last year had levels of mercury far above the safe limits in six communities on the banks of the Nanay and Pintuyacu rivers. "The majority of the population is contaminated," said Jairo Reategui Davila, the Apu, or leader, of San Antonio de Nanay, one of the tested communities. "We call on the authorities to take action on the matter because we are very concerned," he said. The results showed 37 per cent of the 273 men, women and children tested had levels of mercury at more than 10 ppm (parts per million) in their hair, compared to just three per cent under the 2.2 ppm limit established by the World Health Organization (WHO). How did so much mercury get in the environment? The central factor is a lust for gold, according to scientists and officials. Gold prices have soared by nearly 50 per cent in the last year, beating successive record highs, and encouraging a flourishing illegal gold mining trade in the Amazon, where illegal miners use mercury to extract gold particles from the river silt. After the gold is extracted, these mining operations burn off the mercury, turning the toxic metal to vapour that is absorbed by surrounding plants, soil and rivers, said Claudia Vega, head of the mercury program at CINCIA, damaging local nature and biodiversity and raising significant health concerns. Mercury poisoning is associated with several health issues, including cognitive impairment in adults and irreversible developmental delays and learning difficulties for children and babies in the womb. Gabriel Barría, regional coordinator for heavy metals for the local health authority, said it was "very regrettable that villagers were highly contaminated" and blamed the spread of illegal gold mining for the mercury levels in Amazon rivers. He said the health authority did not have the budget to carry out tests for mercury and had only tested 12 villagers on a recent health visit relying on blood and urine samples. Exceeding the limit CINCIA said tests revealed an average level was 8.41 ppm, exceeding the WHO limit by nearly four times. Given that illegal mining in Loreto is fairly recent, there are no comprehensive studies on its health impact on the local population yet. But the levels in these initial tests are already higher than those in the Peruvian Amazon region most impacted by illegal gold mining, Madre de Dios, where 2012 tests showed the majority of adults had average mercury levels of 2.7 ppm. Communities along the Amazon have had to deal with illegal gold mining operations for decades, but it's become a mounting problem in South America in recent years despite governments attempting to crack down on them. In 2023, Colombia, Brazil and the U.S. teamed up to destroy 19 illegal gold mining dredges in the Amazon rainforest. Around 114,000 grams of mercury was being dumped into the river every month at these sites, which authorities said were run by a transnational criminal group. Luis Fernandez, executive director of CINCIA and research professor at Wake Forest University, said if illegal mining continued to spread in Loreto, then villagers with already high mercury levels might begin to approach those close to the worst-recorded cases of mercury contamination. This includes Minamata Bay, the renowned case in Japan in the 1950s, where children were born with congenital deformities and neurological disabilities caused by a chemical factory dumping mercury into the water supply for decades. Vega from CINCIA, who led the study, said the results showed worrying "background" levels of mercury in the Loreto riparian communities. The villagers' fish-based diet was the biggest vector for the mercury entering their systems, Vega said. While this particular study couldn't fully determine if the mercury came from naturally occurring sources or human-caused activities like illegal gold mining, she noted that "several studies agree that the entry of mining into a territory tends to significantly increase mercury levels in the environment." The villagers tested for this newly released study were mainly exposed to methylmercury, researchers found, a highly toxic form that accumulates in the body. "[The] greatest risk is for pregnant women and children: methylmercury can cross the placenta and affect the development of the developing baby's brain," Vega said. "This type of exposure is a serious public health concern, even if affected individuals do not show immediate symptoms."
CTV News
18-06-2025
- CTV News
Utility workers uncover 1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy in Peru's capital
Archaeologist Jose Aliaga excavates an ancient mummy, which he said is a female from the pre-Inca Chancay culture, that was discovered by city workers who were digging a natural gas line for the company Calidda in the district of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) LIMA, Peru — Utility workers excavating trenches to expand the network of natural gas pipelines in Peru's capital have uncovered a pre-Inca mummy approximately 1,000 years old, barely half a metre (20 inches) from the surface. The mummy had gone unnoticed despite urban development in a district of Lima where former agricultural fields have been converted into working-class neighborhoods in recent decades. Jose Aliaga, an archaeologist with utility Cálidda, on Wednesday said the unearthed mummy, found in a seated position and covered by a bundle, still has dark brown hair. 'We found remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial,' Aliaga said. He said workers made the discovery last week. Lima, located in a valley irrigated by three rivers fed from the Andes, housed human civilizations thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in 1535. Now home to 10 million people, the city has more than 400 archaeological sites, most of which are intertwined with the current urban fabric. 'It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals,' said Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru. Van Dalen, who is not involved in the discovery, said mummies on the Peruvian coast are usually found mummified naturally, generally in desert areas, with the skin dehydrated by the summer heat. He explained that other unearthed remains have been found to have undergone mummification procedures for cultural reasons and are usually discovered in a seated position with their hands covering their faces. Jesús Bahamonde, director of the archaeological monitoring plan of metropolitan Lima at Cálidda, said the mummy found last week would have belonged to a society of fishermen of the Chancay culture, which flourished between 1,000 and 1,470 AD.
