Archaeological Investigations in El Paraíso. A Late Preceramic Architectural Complex in Lima – Peru

Summary

El Paraíso architectonic complex is located in the lower section of the Chillon River Valley, less than 2 km from the Pacific Ocean, in Lima, the capital city of Peru. It is composed by 14 structures, or huacas, distributed in an area of 47 hectares, in a rural place named Chuquitanta. The site is recognized as one of the earliest expressions of monumental architecture and social complexity in Peru since the works of Frédéric Engel in the 1960’s and Jeffrey Quilter in the 1980’s. Since 2015, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture is developing a project of investigation, conservation and restauration of the site. This presentation explains the results of the first two years of the project. So far, we developed excavations in architectonics I, III, IV, VI, and IX, defining the constructive phases of those buildings, and recovering evidences of an economy based on agriculture production complemented with the exploitations for marine and riverine resources. Also, offerings chambers were discovered with especial artifacts like slings, lithic clubs, digging sticks, a cactus, and the burial of a young women. Other burials of the Late Intermediate and Late Horizon Periods are giving important information about the Colli occupation of the site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18820