Details of the find

The temple site, located in the Zanya (also spelled Sanya) region of northwestern Peru, is part of the Los Paredones de la Otra Banda Las Animas archaeological complex, according to local authorities. After excavations began on June 3, researchers discovered what was left of the walls of the multi-story templeThe skeletons of three adults were squeezed between the walls.

Graves containing votive offerings wrapped in cloth suggest that this may have been a sacrificial area.

We’re looking at a 5,000-year-old religious complex in an archaeological site defined by walls that are probably made of clay. We have a central staircase that leads to a sort of stage in the middle.
– says Luis Armando Muro Iñonan, director of the Ukupe Cultural Landscape Archaeological Project.

An ancient temple in Peru / Photo: DDC Lambayeque

An ancient temple in Peru / Photo: DDC Lambayeque

The walls were decorated with intricate friezes depicting a human body with a bird’s head, feline features and reptilian claws. The upper parts of the walls were covered in “fine painted plaster”. Archaeologists say “special ceremonies may have taken place” here.

An ancient temple in Peru / Photo: DDC Lambayeque

An ancient temple in Peru / Photo: DDC Lambayeque

Alongside this temple, another “archaeological block” was excavated. It contained a ceremonial architectural structure from the late Mochica period, between 600 and 700 AD. The monument has buttresses (a support that takes the weight of the ground) and the foundations of a large stepped platform (perhaps a pyramid). Also found at the site was the burial of a later-era infant, approximately 5-6 years old.

There are no photos yet of the second find.

This study aims to examine the origin, evolution and development of the ceremonial center and elite cemetery of La Otra Banda and Ucupe, which were constructed and incorporated regionally between the Formative and Moche periods, together with several other recent centers in the Jaquetepeque Valley and Lambayeke.