In early 2025, archaeologists announced that they’d uncovered an unknown pyramidal structure at the Chupacigarro site, a kilometer west of the UNESCO‑listed Sacred City of Caral‑Supe in Peru’s Supe Valley. It’s an amazing new find that gives us new insight into the architectural techniques and urban landscape of the Caral civilization, often described as the oldest in the Americas.
An Ancient Site In Historical Context
The new pyramid is located at Chupacigarro, one of several sites surrounding the ancient city of Caral. The Caral‑Supe civilization goes back to at least 3000 BC, making it contemporary with the early civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
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Architecture Structure
Excavation unveiled a quadrangular pyramid with three superimposed platforms. At each corner, large vertical stones called huancas serve both a structural and symbolic role. A central staircase leads to the summit. Vegetation had covered the area before the site was cleared to uncover the buried stone structure.
Ceremonial Site
The presence of the Huanca stones and other ritual features points to a ceremonial significance for the pyramid, adding to our knowledge of Caral religious customs. The other ruins in the vicinity of the site indicate related residential and public structures; the site appears to have been a small urban center.
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Size And Scope Of The Complex
Early mapping so far indicates the site spans around 38.6 hectares (95.4 acres). Aside from the main pyramid, the complex also boasts several platforms, plazas, and residences, which seem to suggest functions intended for both ceremonial and daily life.
Early Civilization And Urbanization
The new find lends weight to the idea that Caral wasn’t an isolated ceremonial center but only a part of a more widespread urban network, including outlying districts like Chupacigarro. This strongly implies complex social organization and urban planning.
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Our Changing Perceptions of Andean Prehistory
Caral‑Supe sites, including this newly discovered pyramid, sprang up more than a thousand years before the other monument-building cultures of the region. This solidifies Caral's status as a cradle of Andean civilization, and will force an update to existing models of development in the Precolumbian Americas.
More Research Ahead
The team, led by Dr. Ruth Shady and other researchers of the Caral Archaeological Zone, is now carrying out detailed mapping and comparative analysis. Further work might involve excavation of inhabited zones, plaza areas, and analysis of construction techniques like the shicra bag foundations used at Caral.
Mariella.Sakura, Wikimedia Commons
The Discovery’s True Importance
This amazing discovery gives us a more complete understanding of early Andean civilization. It underscores the Caral society’s social organization and architectural abilities. It’s incredible to learn how advanced the Caral people were centuries before other American societies emerged.
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