Caral, or as it is also called Caral-Supe, is an ancient settlement of the Norte Chico culture, which is located in the valley of the Supe River in the Peruvian province of Barranca, about 170 kilometers north of Lima.
Caral is considered one of the oldest cities and centers of civilization in America. It was inhabited from 2600 BC to 2000 BC. On an area of 60 hectares, there were about 3,000 Indians.
The culture of Norte Chico, to which Caral belongs, was a developed and complex pre-Columbian civilization, which included about 30 settlements - all of them were found in the Peruvian region of Norte Chico. It is now believed that the origin of the civilizations of South America took place here. Complex societies began to form here in the 30th century BC. and existed until the 18th century BC, approximately a millennium after the birth of the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia and two millennia before the emergence of the Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica.
The Norte Chico culture is a pre-pottery culture. The most impressive achievements of civilization that have come down to us is the monumental architecture, which includes massive earthen platforms and "sunken" circular squares.
The most famous, largest and currently best explored cultural center of Norte Chico is the Caral archaeological complex. It was officially discovered in 1948, but did not attract much the attention of archaeologists until the 90s of the last century. Large-scale excavations here began in 1994 and 1996, when the Peruvian anthropologist and archaeologist Ruth Martha Shadi Solis (born December 29, 1946) took over.
Thanks to excavations and research of the finds, it became clear that Caral was a thriving center of South America around the time when the famous pyramids began to be built in Ancient Egypt.
A distinctive feature of Karal is the absence of any traces of military affairs - so far no traces of battles, no weapons, or mutilated bodies have been found. This gives scientists a reason to assume that Karal's society was peaceful, based on trade.
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In one of the pyramids, archaeologists discovered 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones and 37 small horns made of deer and llama bones. The remains of a child buried with a necklace made of stone beads were also found. The most notable find is perhaps the discovery of objects similar to kippah, so nodular writing in South America may have deep roots.
19 more settlements were found in the Karal-Supe valley. All of them are similar in architecture to Karal - there are also small platforms and round stone squares. Taking into account all the settlements, up to 20,000 people could live in the Karal-Supe valley.
Ruth Shadi believes that Caral was the center of the ancient Norte Chico civilization, which traded with coastal communities and even possibly with the Amazon.