HISTORY: :: Peruvian archaeologists discover a
400-year-old temple buried under a dune
:: Ucupe-Valle de Zana Cultural Landscapes Project
:: Lambayeque, Peru
:: Luis Muro, Archaeologist:
“We are awaiting radiocarbon dating to confirm this date, but evidence indicates that this religious building is possibly part of a religious tradition of temples that were built on the north coast of Peru during that period.” //
“The structures we found are part of what appears to be a theater built with adobe walls. It has central staircases, walls decorated with paints that form pictorial designs and high relief designs forming figures of mythological characters.”
Archaeologists found the walls and base of the temple, as well as the remains of three adults that suggest they were sacrificed in ritual ceremonies.
On one of the walls of the temple there is a high relief drawing of a human body and a bird’s head, a mythological figure from the religious beliefs of the time. These characteristics preceded the remote Chavin culture on the country’s central coast.
