First discoveries from Lima's oldest archaeological site presented

A team of archaeologists from Peru's Culture Ministry has presented the first of the approximately 4,000-year-old objects it discovered at the El Paraiso archaeological complex, the most ancient in Lima, project director Joaquin Narvaez told EFE.

Dating back at least 4,000 years and as many as 5,000, the El Paraiso huaca is Lima’s oldest archaeological site 
[Credit: Andina/Héctor Vinces]

The specialist said that during the first four months of the dig his team found a ceramic fragment and the tomb of a woman, along with gems, tools and food remains.

"Pursuing this investigation has allowed us to answer some questions we had about this archaeological site from the Late Preceramic Period," the archaeologist said.

The remains of a Pre-Ceramic Period woman from the El Paraiso archaeological site of Lima’s 
San Martin de Porres district [Credit: Andina/Héctor Vinces]

El Paraiso is an archaeological complex in the Lima district of San Martin de Porres, which covers 41 hectares (101 acres) and consists of 12 buildings including pyramidal structures that were in use during five different periods.

Among the principal finds is the head of a ceramic figure that belongs, according to Narvaez, to the final phase of Peruvian prehistory.

The 120-acre area features eight structures, the most famous of which is the 20-foot tall Building 1 
[Credit: Andina/Héctor Vinces]

"That a ceramic object should turn up among remains from the Late Preceramic Period shows us one of the earliest attempts by the first inhabitants of this complex to fire clay in order to harden it," he said.

Another discovery presented by the team was the tomb of a woman some 30 to 35 years old who stood no taller than 1.5 meters (4 feet 11 inches), which was unearthed during excavations at Building 4.