Archaeologists digging in the Paredones region of the Nazca Province of Peru have revealed that they have discovered stones and walls of the same style as that used by the Inca in the Cusco region of Peru. This is the first time that stones of this style have been found on the Pacific coast region of Peru, with prior finds all being in the highlands regions of the Andes, so this is a unique and potentially important archaeological discovery in Peru.
The vast majority of archaeological sites and ancient structures along the Pacific coastline of Peru are built using adobe bricks, manufactured from a mixture of mud and clay:
An example of Adobe bricks, Huaca Pucllana, Lima, Peru.
However this new find in Paredones shows a wall structure that combines the traditional adobe bricks found in this region, with well crafted and carved Cusco-style stones of the Inca. The archaeologists working at the site have confirmed that the Cusco-style stones found would have been carved only by specialist craftsmen that potentially would have been brought from Cusco specifically for this task.
Typical Inca masonry, Cusco, Peru
El Commercio has reported that the Paredones site was inhabited from around AD1470 until around AD1550, and therefore towards the end of the Inca Empire, and that the site was most likely an administrative location for the Inca, albeit an important one.
The most important thing part of this discovery is the fact that this is the first time, and only time, that Inca style masonry of this type has been discovered in Peru. Archaeological excavations continue.
Published: 22/09/2013.
