• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Archaeology News
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum
Archaeology News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Anthropology

Archaeologists uncover rare pre-Inca burials at ‘water cult’ temple in Peru

by Dario Radley
August 23, 2024

Archaeologists from the National University of Trujillo (UNT) have unearthed the remains of four individuals buried approximately 3,800 years ago, long before the rise of the Inca Empire, in Peru’s Viru Valley.

Archaeologists uncover rare pre-Inca burials at 'water cult' temple in Peru
The team discovered the skeletal remains of two children, a teenager, and an adult. Credit: National University of Trujillo

The site, located in the San Juan ravine, has been dubbed Queneto Temple 2, or architectural complex 14-1 (CA14-1), and offers new insights into the ancient cultures that thrived in the Andean region during the Early Formative period (circa 1800 to 900 BCE).

The findings were presented by the Virú Valley Archaeological Research Project (PAVI), led by PhD candidate Feren Castillo Luján and thesis student Christian González from UNT’s Professional School of Archaeology. Castillo Luján noted the urgent need for protection against threats such as land invasions and agricultural expansion, which endanger the archaeological site’s integrity.

The team discovered the skeletal remains of two children, a teenager, and an adult, all buried in a lateral decubitus position, facing the mountains. This specific orientation may hold symbolic significance, particularly in the context of Andean cosmology, where mountains are revered. “Mountains have symbolic significance in Andean cosmology and were also the source of water for irrigation in an otherwise desert landscape,” noted Jason Nesbitt, an associate professor of anthropology at Tulane University, in an interview with Live Science, though he was not involved in the study.

The burials were accompanied by various funerary goods, including stone pendants and snail shells, which could indicate a ritualistic or ceremonial aspect to the interments. The presence of these items, along with early ceramic fragments, suggests that the individuals belonged to a culture that valued symbolic offerings and had developed complex societal structures.

RelatedStories

1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy linked to Chancay culture unearthed during gas work in Lima

1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy linked to Chancay culture unearthed during gas work in Lima

June 23, 2025
Nazca Grave by Bruno Girin via Flickr

Ancient mass grave in Peru reveals brutal conflict

April 18, 2025

The temple, where the burials were found, was constructed with cobblestone walls held together by clay plaster and featured unique architectural elements such as curved corners. Castillo Luján explained that the excavation covered a 51-square-meter area, which represents just 1% of the total site. This has allowed researchers to identify five interconnected spaces within the temple, which may have been used for rituals associated with water worship, a critical element in ancient Andean worldviews. The early pottery fragments found at the site are similar to those from other significant settlements, like Gramalote in the Moche Valley and Huaca Negra near the coast in the Virú Valley.

Castillo Luján has called for immediate action from authorities and the local community to safeguard the site, which holds immense potential for cultural tourism and the preservation of Peruvian identity. “The tourism potential of the area is immense, but beyond that, we must think about the importance of valuing and preserving our cultural identity,” he stressed.

National University of Trujillo

Share2Tweet1ShareShareSend

You May Also Like...

Ancient finger grooves in glittering Australian cave reveal sacred rituals of First Nations ancestors
Archaeology

Ancient finger grooves in glittering Australian cave reveal sacred rituals of First Nations ancestors

July 30, 2025
900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney
Archaeology

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

July 30, 2025
Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa's Duke monument in Ukraine. Credit: Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University
Archaeology

Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa’s Duke monument in Ukraine

July 29, 2025
Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory
Anthropology

Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

July 29, 2025
5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat
Archaeology

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

July 28, 2025
250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel
Archaeology

250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

July 28, 2025

Follow us


Instagram
246K

Facebook
112K

Threads
43K

LinkedIn
13K

Twitter
6K

YouTube
1K
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Shipwreck Salvage. Credit: rawpixel.com / Public Domain

2,000-year-old shipwreck discovered off Turkish coast with remarkably preserved stacked ceramics

July 2, 2025
Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

May 18, 2025
Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

July 13, 2025
600-year-old amethyst jewel found in Polish castle moat reveals secrets of medieval nobility

600-year-old amethyst jewel found in Polish castle moat reveals secrets of medieval nobility

July 21, 2025
Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore, study finds

Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore

July 3, 2025
$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius' eruption

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

Ancient finger grooves in glittering Australian cave reveal sacred rituals of First Nations ancestors

Ancient finger grooves in glittering Australian cave reveal sacred rituals of First Nations ancestors

July 30, 2025
900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

July 30, 2025
Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa's Duke monument in Ukraine. Credit: Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University

Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa’s Duke monument in Ukraine

July 29, 2025
Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

July 29, 2025
5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

July 28, 2025

Archaeology News online magazine

Archaeology News is an international online magazine that covers all aspects of archaeology.











Categories

  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • Download
  • Game
  • News
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Paleontology
  • Quiz
  • Tours

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum

About  .  Contact  .  Donation

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved