Caral

Caral

The 'Sacred City of Caral-Supe' or simply 'Caral' , is an archaeological site where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe valley, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometers north of Lima (Peru), 23 km from the coast and 350 metres above sea level. It is attributed an antiquity of 5000 years and it is considered the oldest city in America and one of the oldest in the world, since no other older site with such a diversity of monumental buildings, with different ceremonial and administrative functions has been found so far on that continent. It has been declared Humanity Cultural Heritage by Unesco.The caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 B.C (Late Archaic and Lower Formative) that is, it was contemporary with other primordial civilizations such as Egypt, India, Sumeria, China, but unlike them (who exchanged their achievements), it developed in complete isolation. In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, surpassing the Olmec civilization by 1500 years, another important civilizational focus located in Mesoamerica.Closely related to the city of Caral was Áspero or El Áspero, located on the coast near the mouth of the Supe River, and which, according to all indications, was its fishing city. This is where remains of human sacrifices (two children and a newborn) have been found, and more recently (2016), of a woman, who presumably belonged to the local elite of 4,500 years ago.

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