In Peru, where the land slopes down toward the Pacific, in the middle of the desert sands,
stand the ruins of an astronomical observatory of great antiquity. It is a relic of a mysterious,
highly advanced civilisation capable of erecting huge pyramids, carving huge stone colossi,
and complex society. They began their year with the rising of the Pleiades.
Chanquillo is an ancient monumental complex in the Peruvian coastal desert.
It spans an incredible 5000 hectares. The most prominent features are a large hilltop fort
and a series of 13 towers that line a nearby ridge making them look a little like the
backbone of some long-forgotten creature. It is thought to be at least 2300 years old.
For many years its function remained a mystery. Then in the 1940s Thor
Heyerdahl proposed in his book Kon-Tiki that it had some astronomical function.
This was of course ignored for a further 67 years when two archaeologists put forward a
theory that the towers were erected in order to create an incredibly accurate calendar.
Let’s dive in and find out more
I have previously shown the remarkable sailing skills of the Polynesians and how they were able
to navigate by the stars across the Pacific. What you may not know is that in Polynesia, as in Peru,
the calendar year had been so arranged as to begin on the particular day of the year
when the constellation of the Pleiades first appeared above the horizon,
and in both areas, this constellation was considered the patron of agriculture.
Those that have followed the precession series will recognise the importance of the Pleiades.
Who built the mysterious structure at Chanquillo is not clear. It is thought
to have only been occupied for a very short period of time before being abandoned. It
is thought to be one of the oldest known astronomical observatory in the Americas.
Built over 2300 years ago, the sire features a plaza, a fortified temple
surrounded by barricades and defensive walls with false entrances to deter unwelcome visitors.
The most striking feature is the Thirteen towers
which snake along a ridge. Chankillo is unique because it has two different observation points.
The buildings and structures are oriented towards the sunrise. Towards the east 13 towers line along
a rising ridge. Below the ridge on one side stands a structure that contains an observation point.
From this viewpoint the towers on the ridge form an artificial horizon.
Throughout the year the position of the sunrises changes slightly every day.
On June 21 it would mark their winter solstice as they are in the southern hemisphere
and would rise at the leftmost point. The next slot marks 31st July, then 12th August,
23rd August, 2nd September, 11th September, 22nd September, 1st October,
11th October, 20th October, 30th October, 12th November, 28th November, 21st December their
summer solstice. Now the sun makes its journey back along the ridge. 10th January, 27th January,
9th February, 19th Februrary, 1st March, 11th March, 20th March (autumn equinox), 31st March,
10th April, 20th April, 2nd May, 14th May, back to the winter solstice on 21st June.
On the opposite side of the ridge, there is another viewing point
this one worked on the sunset. Again these would mark specific days of the year,
starting once more with the winter solstice on the 21st June, 24th July, 9th August, 21st August, 1st
Sep, 12th Sep, 23 Sept (spring equinox), 4th October, 16th October, 28th October, 3rd November,
18th November, Dec 6th, and then back January 2nd, 20th January, 4th February, 11th Feb, etc.
By using this they were able to pinpoint any specific day within the year. This is truely a
masterpiece of architecture, technology and astronomy. The site is so incredibly large
that it could be considered a citadel. So many of its secrets still remain
hidden as barely one percent is believed to have been studied.
There are other alignments they think the site contains that they cannot at this stage identify.
The culture that they believe built them are called the Casma-Sechin culture
and refers to a large concentration of prehistoric ruins in the valleys of the
Casma River and its tributary the Sechin River and along the nearby coast of the Pacific Ocean.
The ruins include major archaeological sites such as Sechin Bajo,
Sechin Alto, Cerro Sechin, Mojeque, Chankillo and Taukachi-Konkan. Most of these are found in river
valleys about 20 kilometres from the ocean. In many of the sites, there is evidence of massive
mound construction as well as the construction of the buildings that were placed on these mounds.
They had an in-depth knowledge of irrigation techniques, construction and astronomy.
The Peruvian Pacific coast is one of the driest deserts in the world with average
annual precipitation of less than 10mm. Except for the river valleys the desert is nearly devoid
of vegetation. Although the oldest of these ruins dates back to 3600BC there is evidence that these
areas were inhabited long before the constructions began. Possibly as long ago as 7600BC.
So here we have another culture that liked to build massive complexes,
aligned to the Sun and other astronomical objects, in the middle of deserts! In the
previous video we looked at the Poverty point and Hopi and the structure they built in Chaco Canyon.
Just surviving and building a community in these areas is a remarkable feat.
Van Dyke described the past as a moving target, because, as memories fade,
the past becomes more tenuous and flexible, more open to multiple and contested interpretations.