Chankillo — The Oldest Sun Observatory in the Americas
Ancient astronomical sites are spread across the earth, and have been fascinating people for millennia. What is less known is that the Americas also have one. It is called the Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex and dates from between 500–200 BC. Located in the north-central coast of Peru in the Casma Valley, it comprises a set of constructions and natural features that together functioned as a calendar, using the Sun to define important dates through the year.
The Casma Valley has historically been an oasis for human settlement in an otherwise inhospitable environment, where the Casma-Sechin river basin flows down the Andes Mountain range, crossing one the of the driest deserts in the world. Even in this harsh environment, the area has many sites that have been under long human occupation, for at least 4,500 years. Among these, the Chankillo Complex is 2,300 years old — a site where excavations took place between 2000 and 2003 to reveal these fantastic structures.
Since 2021, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site, according to which, it “includes a triple-walled hilltop complex, known as the Fortified Temple, two building complexes called Observatory and Administrative Centre, a line of 13 cuboidal towers stretching along the ridge of a hill, and the Cerro Mucho Malo that complements the Thirteen Towers as a natural…
