Caral

Caral, or Caral-Supe, is an ancient city on Peru's central coast in the Supe Valley. It flourished from about 2600 to 2000 BCE and is among the oldest urban centers in the Americas. The site lies near the town of Supe, roughly 200 kilometers north of Lima, in a desert setting that aided preservation.

The ceremonial core comprises several monumental complexes laid out in a planned layout, including pyramidal structures, sunken plazas, and platform mounds. The city shows signs of centralized leadership and an early irrigation system enabling agriculture in the arid coast. Surrounding districts likely housed workers and artisans who supported the ceremonial core.

Archaeological work intensified in the 1990s under Ruth Shady Solís, building on earlier surveys. Caral-Supe and nearby settlements were later designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009 for their significance to early urban development in the Americas.

Findings indicate a mixed economy based on farming, fishing, and regional exchange. Evidence includes cultivated cotton, maize, beans, gourds, and marine products, pointing to a diversified subsistence base and social complexity in a coastal desert environment.

Caral's antiquity and size make it a key reference for the study of early urbanization in the Andes, illustrating that complex societies emerged on the Pacific coast earlier than once assumed.