8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

4750-year-old Megalithic Stone Plaza Discovered in the High Andes of Peru

Two anthropology professors from the University of Wyoming have discovered a prehistoric plaza high in the Andes, known as Callacpuma stone plaza, which was built nearly 5,000 years ago by ancient nomadic groups.

The plaza, which is situated at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, was constructed using large megalithic stones that were arranged vertically, a technique not previously used in the Andes.

This significant finding is a unique structure of a stone circle, where offerings were made to long-forgotten gods over several millennia at an elevation of more than 3,000 meters (9850 feet) above sea level.

The project’s leaders, Associate Professor Jason Toohey, and Professor Melissa Murphy, have been researching this topic since the project began in 2015. Excavations for the plaza began in 2018.

Their article, published in the journal Science Advances, provides new information about the northern Andes’ oldest known circular megalithic plaza. Radiocarbon dating indicates that it was built around 4,750 years ago, during the Late Preceramic Period, making it one of the Americas’ earliest examples of this type of architecture.

Large megalithic stones are set in two concentric circles, each measuring 18 meters (60 feet) in diameter. This arrangement creates a ceremonial area that is full of unknown information from the time when hunter-gatherers in what is now Peru began to build more sophisticated societies.

Excavation of the stone circle at Callacpuma. Photo: Jason Toohey/Science Advances
Excavation of the stone circle at Callacpuma. Photo: Jason Toohey/Science Advances

A prominent feature of the late preceramic era, the plaza represents a critical period of transition in South America when coastal fishing communities started to trade with emerging mountain agricultural societies. It is a prime example of monumental architecture built prior to the widespread adoption of agriculture and long-term settlements.

“This structure was built approximately 100 years before the Great Pyramids of Egypt and around the same time as Stonehenge,” Jason L. Toohey says.

These dates signify that the circular plaza at Callacpuma is the earliest known example of monumental and megalithic architecture in the Cajamarca Valley—and one of the earliest examples in ancient Peru.

Further discoveries at the site include unworked lapis lazuli gems, quartz crystals, and pieces of ceramic cups and bowls, all of which demonstrate the site’s significance and continued use even after the local populations had mastered pottery.

Dated to the Layzón period (500–200 BC), recent artifacts made of soft kaolin clay indicate that the stone circle was visited on a regular basis until it was ceremoniously sealed during that same period for unidentified reasons. Semi-nomadic peoples’ building of these ritual sites reflects a change in their belief systems, which place more emphasis on group efforts and interregional cooperation.

The project is led by Toohey and Patricia Chirinos Ogata from the University of California-Santa Barbara. The team also includes Murphy, as well as undergraduate and graduate students from Peru and the U.S.

They work with locals close to the Callacpuma site on research findings and the significance of cultural heritage as part of their outreach to the community. Working together, further scientific investigations and site preservation can continue.

DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adl0572

Cover Photo: Jason L. Toohey et al. / Science Advances

Related Articles

Hidden Archaeological Treasures from Cologne Cathedral

25 January 2024

25 January 2024

An area of around 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) is being discovered beneath the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic...

“Operation Heritage” uncovers an artifact smuggling ring in Turkey

1 June 2022

1 June 2022

Turkish security forces searched locations in 38 regions on Tuesday in one of the largest operations against artifact smugglers, with...

Artifacts found in Japan could be prototypes of ninja weapons

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Artifacts discovered in the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1590 Siege of Odawara may be prototypes of...

4,400 Years Old Shaman Snake Staff Found in Finland

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

A very well-preserved 4,400-year-old Shaman Snake Staff made of wood has been found in Finland. The “Snake Staff” found is...

The mythical hero of Troy and Rome Aeneas’s peerless mosaic discovered in Türkiye

11 May 2023

11 May 2023

A large mosaic depicting the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas, the protagonist of Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid” and the ancestor...

The first Dutch Neanderthal’s ‘Krijn’ face was reconstructed

7 September 2021

7 September 2021

World-renowned “paleo-artists” Kennis brothers have reconstructed the face of the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands. After more than 50,000 years,...

Extraordinary discovery in France: An unlooted 1800-year-old Roman Sarcophagus discovered

27 September 2023

27 September 2023

Archaeologists from France’s National Institute of Preventive Archeology (INRAP) have unearthed an unlooted ancient stone sarcophagus in the vast ancient...

Will new Technology be able to Solve the Mystery in Masovia?

14 May 2021

14 May 2021

Although there are about 500 medieval tombs found in today’s Masovia and Podlasie cities, the question of who these tombs...

Archaeologists discover that Iranian farmers grew rice about 3,000 years ago

18 May 2023

18 May 2023

Archaeologists excavating in Iran’s Mazandaran region have revealed that Iranian farmers were cultivating rice as far back as 3000 years...

Grave Goods Show Gendered Roles for Neolithic Age

16 April 2021

16 April 2021

Grave goods, such as stone tools, have revealed that Neolithic farmers had different work-related activities for men and women. Researchers...

A Baptismal Surprise: Triton Baths in Southeastern Rome Converted into Early Christian Church

7 May 2025

7 May 2025

Recent archaeological excavations within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette Bassi, situated in the southeastern outskirts of Rome,...

Norse Runic Text found in Oslo could be Prayer!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Studies (NIKU) have unearthed two objects inscribed in Norse runic text in...

Persian-era plaster walls were discovered during excavations at Zeyve Höyük in central Turkey

2 August 2022

2 August 2022

This year’s excavations at Porsuk-Zeyve Höyük (Zeyve Mound) near the Porsuk village of the Ulukışla district of Niğde, located in...

1,500-year-old secret underground passage uncovered in Istanbul

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

During the ongoing excavations in the ruins of Saint Polyeuktos Church in Istanbul’s Saraçhane neighborhood, which was destroyed during the...

2,400-year-old Battlefield of Alexander the Great’s First Persian Victory found in Türkiye

27 December 2024

27 December 2024

After 20 years of research, archaeologists in Türkiye have pinpointed the exact location of the legendary Battle of Granicus, where...