Structures Found of Remote Mysterious Civilization in Peru
- Editor OGN Daily
- 37 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of more than 100 previously unknown archaeological structures at Gran Pajatén, a pre-Columbian settlement in the remote reaches of the Peruvian Andes.
Located roughly 300 miles north of Lima, the Gran Pajatén complex contains remnants of the Chachapoya civilization, which thrived in the northeast Andes between the 9th and 16th centuries, until it was finally conquered by the Inca Empire.
Sites like Gran Pajatén - all but inaccessible to modern visitors and researchers because of its remote location, high altitude and dense foliage - helped earn the Chachapoya the nickname 'Warriors of the Clouds' and resist Inca colonization for longer than other groups.
That remoteness has also contributed to an air of mystery around the Chachapoya civilization.
The Gran Pajatén site was first discovered in the 1960s, but research stagnated after archaeologists recorded 26 structures in the 1980s. This latest slew of discoveries, announced by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), represents a triumph for the study of the mysterious ancient civilization.
Using technology like lidar scanning and photogrammetry to “see through the forest canopy,” it revealed a sophisticated urban settlement complete with agricultural terraces, circular buildings and cliffside tombs at altitudes of up to nearly 10,000 feet above sea level.
“What excites me most is that we’re only scratching the surface,” Juan Pablo de la Puente, executive director of WMF in Peru, tells Art Newspaper. “The path ahead is full of possibility, and we’re just beginning the journey.”