Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EARLIEST SETTLERS
There is some debate about how long, exactly, there has been a human presence in Peru.
Some scholars have suggested that humans occupied the Andes as far back as 14,000 BC
(with at least one academic reporting that it could precede even that early date). The most
definitive archaeological evidence, however, puts humans in the region at around 8000 BC.
Caves in Lauricocha (near Huánuco) and Toquepala (outside of Tacna) bear paintings that
record hunting scenes from that era. The latter shows a group of hunters cornering and
killing what appears to be a group of camelid animals.
At 4000 BC, taming of llamas and guinea pigs began in the highlands - followed by the
domestication of potatoes, gourds, cotton,
lúcuma
(a type of fruit), quinoa, corn and beans.
By 2500 BC, once-nomadic hunters and gatherers clustered into settlements along the Pa-
cific, surviving off of fishing and agriculture. These early Peruvians lived in simple one-
room dwellings, but also built many structures for ceremonial or ritual purposes. Some of
the oldest - raised temple platforms facing the ocean and containing human burials - date
from the third millennium BC.
In recent years, studies at some of these archaeological sites have revealed that these
early societies were far more developed than previously imagined. Along with Egypt, India
and China, Peru is considered one of the six cradles of civilization (a site where urbaniza-
tion accompanied agricultural innovation) - the only one located in the southern hemi-
sphere. Ongoing excavations at Caral (
Click here
), on the coast about 200km north of
Lima, continue to uncover evidence of what is the oldest civilization in the Americas.
Roughly contemporary to these developments on the coast, a group in the highlands built
the enigmatic Temple of Kotosh (
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)
near Huánuco, whose structures are an es-
timated 4000 years old. The site features two temple mounds with wall niches and decorat-
ive friezes. It represents some of the most sophisticated architecture produced in the high-
lands during the period.
It is possible to browse original research materials
dating back to the colony (from simple text to
scanned communiqués) on the website of the Bibli-
oteca Nacional (National Library). Logon to
www.bnp.gob.pe
and click on the link that says
'Biblioteca Virtual.'
