Oldest Astronomical Observatory In The Americas Discovered In Peru The Art Newspaper International Art News And Events

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Peru's oldest civilization may have left behind more than temples and plazas. At Áspero, archaeologists have now identified a structure that appears to have helped ancient residents read the sky.

Earlier this month, Peru's cultural ministry announced the discovery of an astronomical building at the ancient settlement of Áspero in Supe Puerto, on the country's Pacific coast. The site belongs to the Caral urban network, dated to 3000BC-1800BC, and the new find adds another layer to a civilization already known for its architectural and symbolic sophistication.

The structure is a two-level stone observatory positioned near pyramidal buildings with a wide view over the seacoast and the lower Supe Valley. According to archaeologists, it was used to record celestial phenomena and to observe the sun, moon, and stars. That knowledge had immediate practical value. By tracking the sky, residents could anticipate weather changes, tides, and the availability of marine resources - information central to fishing and shellfish gathering.

David Palomino, the site's director, says the observatory reveals a direct relationship between astronomical knowledge and maritime activity. Aldemar Crispín, another archaeologist working at the site, argues that measuring time was essential to organizing daily life and to linking coastal fishers with farming communities in the valley through exchange.

Researchers have identified four distinct construction periods at the building, suggesting that its function evolved over time. It is believed to have begun as a public ceremonial space before being remodeled with an oval-shaped platform and a vertical stone, or huanca, placed at its center. In Andean ritual traditions, the huanca carries symbolic weight, and its presence points to an intensification of ceremonial use, possibly tied to star observation.

The discovery also strengthens a broader argument about Caral: that the civilization managed its environment with unusual precision, drawing on close observation of territory and cosmos long before similar systems appeared elsewhere. A multidisciplinary team is now analyzing soil layers and recovered materials through radiocarbon dating to establish a more exact timeline.

For a civilization that flourished thousands of years ago, Áspero suggests a strikingly practical cosmology - one in which the movement of the heavens helped structure work, ritual, and survival on the coast.

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