The New World’s Oldest Calendar
Research at a 4,200-year-old temple in Peru yields clues to an ancient people who may have clocked the heavens
Read More
South American Archaeology News
The latest news, updates, and discoveries of the archaeology of South America including the Inca, Moche, Nazca and more.
In Peru, scientists discover the oldest solar observatory in the Americas
As archaeologists evaluate whether an ancient temple in Buena Vista, Peru, functioned as a calendar, a different research team is preserving the remains of an unusually elaborate astronomical complex just north, in Chankillo. This solar observatory is considered the oldest in the Americas, dating back to the 4th century B.C., and it offers unique physical evidence that a sun cult inhabited Peru at least 1,500 years before the Incas.
Read MorePre-Incan Metallurgy Discovered
Metals found in lake mud in the central Peruvian Andes have revealed the first evidence for pre-Colonial metalsmithing there.
Read MoreAncient “Lost City” Discovered in Peru, Official Claims
Ruins recently discovered in southern Peru could be the ancient “lost city” of Paititi, according to claims that are drawing serious but cautious response from experts. The presumptive lost city, described in written records as a stone settlement adorned with gold statues, has long been a grail for explorers—as well as a lure for local tourism businesses.
Read MoreOldest Gold Artifact in Americas Found
A necklace of gold and turquoise-colored beads at an ancient hunter-gatherer burial site in the Andes Mountains is the oldest crafted gold artifact known in the Americas and challenges the idea that only complex societies could produce such displays of wealth and prestige.
Read MoreAncient temple used by Incas discovered
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, according to officials involved with the dig.
Read MoreTemple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru
A 4,000-year-old temple filled with murals has been unearthed on the northern coast of Peru, making it one of the oldest finds in the Americas, a leading archaeologist said on Saturday.
Read MoreMummified Inca maiden wows crowds
Hundreds of people crowded into a museum in the north-western city of Salta to see “la Doncella”, the Maiden. The remains of the girl, who was 15 when she died, were found in an icy pit on top of a volcano in the Andes, along with a younger boy and girl. Researchers believe they were sacrificed by the Incas 500 years ago.
Read More‘Cloud warrior’ ruin may hold clues to lost civilization
An unusual archeological site discovered in Peru’s mountains may hold clues to the history of the Chachapoya people, known as “cloud warriors,” who fought the Inca Empire before the Spanish conquest.
Read MoreBrazil sees traces of more isolated Amazon tribes
Far more Indian groups than previously thought are surviving in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest isolated from the outside world but they risk extermination at the hands of encroaching loggers and miners, experts said on Wednesday.
Read MoreTombs of Pre-Inca Elite Discovered Under Peru Pyramid
A complex of tombs recently discovered under a pyramid in Peru offers
landmark clues to a thousand-year-old pre-Incan culture,
archaeologists report.
Tattooed mummy with jewelry found in Peru
A female mummy with complex tattoos on her arms has been
found in a ceremonial burial site in Peru, the National Geographic
Society reported Tuesday.
The mummy was accompanied by ceremonial items including jewelry and weapons, and the remains of a teenage girl who had been sacrificed,
archaeologists reported.
