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No. 97

Caral

On land Americas
Caral, or Caral-Chupacigarro was a large settlement in the Supe Valley, near Supe, Barranca Province, Peru, some 200 kilometres north of Lima. Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas and a well-studied site of the
Jon Gudorf Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Where
Peru
Built by
Norte Chico civilization
Era
3000-1800 BCE
Known for
The oldest known city in the Americas, as old as the pyramids.
How it ended
Abandoned, possibly after drought and El Nino floods.
Pirámides en Caral, Valle de Supe, Region Lima, Peru
Håkan Svensson Xauxa, CC BY 2.5
Caral
KyleThayer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Wide view of the ruins at Caral, the most excavated ruins of the oldest known civilization in the Americas, the Norte Chico civilization. The Norte Chico Civilization is believed to have started around 3500 BC on the coa
KyleThayer, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Background

The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, or simply Caral, is an archaeological site in Peru where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe District of Peru, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometres (113 mi) north of Lima, 23 kilometres (14 mi) from the coast and 350 meters above sea level. It is attributed an antiquity of 5,000 years and it is considered the oldest city in the Americas and one of the oldest in the world. No other site has been found with such a diversity of monumental buildings or different ceremonial and administrative functions in the Americas as early as Caral. It has been declared a Humanity Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO.

The Caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 BC (Late Archaic and Lower Formative periods). In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, developing 1,500 years earlier than the Olmec civilization, the first Mesoamerican complex society.

Closely related to the city of Caral was an early fishing city, Áspero or El Áspero, located on the coast near the mouth of the Supe River. There, remains of human sacrifices (two children and a newborn) have been found. In 2016, the remains were found of a woman, who presumably was one of the local elite around 2500 BC.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.