Peñico, the pre-Hispanic jewel of Peru, over 3,800 years old, opens its doors to the world

Lima, July 3 (EFE).- The archaeological settlement of Peñico, with more than 3,800 years old and located northwest of Lima, will open its doors to the world on Saturday, July 12, as announced by the director of the Caral Archaeological Zone (ZAC), Ruth Shady, this Thursday at a press conference. Renamed as the Integration City of the Supe Valley, the site was founded around the year 1,800 BC and is located in the province of Huaura, about 12 kilometers from the Sacred City of Caral, known as the oldest civilization in America. In addition to its tourist habilitation and after eight years of work by a group made up of 80% of the region’s inhabitants, the Caral Archaeological Zone, in charge of managing both spaces, will organize its first ‘Peñico Raymi’ (sun festival in the Andean tradition) next Saturday, July 12, during the opening to the public of the new space, in an event headed by Shady. The archaeological urban center has up to 18 identified constructions, including major and minor public buildings and residences, and owes its new name to the population exchange that it presented throughout the early formative period. Thus, Peñico mixed civilizations from the highlands, coast, and jungle of Peru thanks to its “strategic situation for the relationship between the populations of the Huaura and Suco valley basins,” as explained by the director of the ZAC.

The ceremonial hall of the Pututus

Among its buildings, a structure with significant designs of ‘pututus’ (wind musical instruments made up of conch shells) stands out, represented on the walls of a quadrangular hall which, experts believe, could identify this building as an important space for administrative and ideological activity. In this Major Public Building, significant findings were identified, such as sculptures, made of clay, of anthropomorphic characters, zoomorphic figures, ceremonial objects, and others, like necklaces with animal bone and clay beads.

Throughout the almost 17 hectares, at an altitude of 600 meters, that the Peñico presents, the space will have information points for visitors, such as the tunnel of Andean science and technology, with didactic and interactive museographic resources, such as infographics, models, dioramas and digital recreations.

A Walk Through Antiquity

In the presentation of the opening of this new space, the experts had virtual reality glasses to be able to “walk” through the ancient civilization, thanks to a recreation of the area, both of the ceremonial hall, and of other settlements such as minor public buildings and residential areas present in the Peñico huaca. In this representation, the images show some of the findings that appeared in the settlement, such as polychrome sculptures with Amazonian features or imagery of animals typical of these areas.