Archeologists Discover 4,600 Year Old Pyramid In Peru

With all of history a stage, the ancient mysteries of Egypt have long stood in the spotlight as a favorite of young and old who marvel at the preservation of its remnants and the unfolding of its monumental role in the development of human civilization. It's architectural remains are still the subject of great mystery and wonder, and are under constant investigation by archeologists from around the world. The oldest giant structures of early man, the Egyptian pyramids are considered ancient man's greatest single achievement. Or at least until now.

A team of archeologists have been digging in the remote Peruvian desert near the farming village of Caral. An ancient city, first discovered in 1905 but unexcavated until now, contains the ruins of a great pyramid dating back to 2627 B.C., long before archeologists thought pyramid structures first existed in the Americas.

Based upon the discovery and research by Chicago-area scientists and reported this month in the Research Journal Science, archeologists associated with the project are saying that complex societies emerged in the Americas much earlier than previously thought.

Archeological circles are still reeling by the discovery, because once substantiated by other researchers, the Peruvian pyramid dates at least as far back as the great pyramids of ancient Egypt. A rival civilization halfway around the world? Such a possibility greatly contradicts current and accepted theories, and is bound to get the greatest scrutiny from peers.

But thanks to the unusual building methods of the Peruvian pyramid builders, archeologists on the project were able to get a confirmed carbon dating analysis which will lay to rest most skepticism raised by the professional community. Unlike the Mayan pyramids of the first through ninth centuries A.D., or the Egyptian pyramids that date back 4,800 years, this structure in the Peruvian desert was built on a foundation of reed and fiber sacks filled with river gravel. The sacks were stacked, then covered front and back with stone slabs instead of rectangular blocks. The fibrous material of the sacks provided the perfect material for dependable carbon dating, housed deep inside the building's walls.

Who were these unknown pyramid builders that reached great heights of art and architecture about the same time as the mysterious Egyptian kings? That's what Field Museum anthropologist Jonathan Hass, who has been excavating the site with his wife, Northern Illinois University anthropologist Winifred Creamer, and a Peruvian colleague since 1999, are asking about the discovery.

"After adding a coat of plaster, the builders painted the pyramid in earth tones -- rosy pink, light beige, light gray, blue-gray and yellow," reports Hass, "These things would have been magnificent in their glory."

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