Archaeologists uncover ancient square in Peru: 27-02-2008
One of the oldest structures ever discovered in the Americas has been unearthed in Peru.
Archaeologists have found a ceremonial plaza in Casma that is believed to be around 5,500 years old. The impressive circular structure was discovered by a team of Peruvian and German archaeologists at a ruins site known as Sechin Bajo.
"It's an impressive find; the scientific and archeology communities are very happy. This could redesign the history of the country." Cesar Perez from Peru's National Institute of Culture told Reuters.
"The dating done by the German archaeologists puts it at about 5,500 years old." he added.
It was previously thought that the oldest structures in the Sechin Bajo region were built around 3,600 years ago.
However, the plaza may not hold on to its crown as oldest for very long, as German Yenque, an archaeologist at the dig site, explained to Reuters.
"We've found other pieces of architecture underneath the plaza that could be even older. There are four or five plazas deeper down, which means the structure was rebuilt several times, perhaps every 100 to 300 years," he said.