📋 Tender Overview
The publication covers the topics of scientific research, conservation and management as a model for the protection and dissemination of Perus archaeological heritage.The Caral Archaeological Zone (ZAC), Executing Unit 003 of the Ministry of Culture of Peru, presents the book Penico: City of Social Integration in the Supe Valley during the Early Formative (1800-1500 BC), a publication that reveals the advances of archaeological research and also documents the process of valorization and comprehensive management of an archaeological site of international relevance, located in the territory where the first civilization of America was forged.
This book is the result of eight years of multidisciplinary work directed by Dr. Ruth Shady Solis, and constitutes a reference in heritage management based on science, conservation and community participation. Penico, declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2002 and titled in favor of the State in 2015, is part of the history linked to the Caral Civilization, whose importance has been recognized globally due to its antiquity: 5000 years, and its social, architectural and symbolic complexity.
Penico: a city planned in the trajectory of the Caral Civilization
Founded around 1800 BC, Penico emerged as a strategic urban center after the loss of prestige of the first cities in the Supe Valley, such as the Sacred City of Caral. The Urban Center of Penico is located on the north-central Peruvian coast, on the left bank of the Supe River, province of Huaura, department of Lima and covers twelve hectares.
Its urban design reflects a hierarchical and highly organized society, structured in two clearly defined sectors: the Upper Half and the Lower Half, made up of eleven monumental buildings and architectural complexes distributed in harmony with the local topography. Among them stand out:
The Main Public Building (B1, B2 and B3): a monumental work 95 m long, with ceremonial halls, circular altar, circular plazas and reliefs of pututos, which functioned as a center of ideological and administrative power.
The Minor Public Building (B4): space for private rituals, with niches, a funerary chamber and offerings such as polychrome sculptures of unfired clay.
The A4 Residential Building and the A5 Subsector Workshop: elite residential complex linked to the artisanal production of luxury objects in shell, bone and stone.
The Public Building with Sunken Circular Plaza A1 and the Public Building with Quadrangular Plaza A2-A3: ceremonial spaces that include two lithons painted with representations of the sun and the moon, interpreted as astronomical and calendrical markers.
A society connected with multiple ecosystems
Analysis of recovered materials shows that the inhabitants of Penico managed resources from the valley, hills, wetlands, dry and riverine forests, and the sea. They grew cotton, corn, pallar, sweet potato, lucuma, pacae, guava, pumpkin, potato, beans, avocado; They collected hill snails; and they exchanged marine products such as machas, mussels, clams and fan shells. The ritual use of hematite--a mineral to make red pigment--suggests its participation in symbolic networks of high value in the Andean worldview.
Enhancement: cultural heritage as an axis of social development
The intervention in the Penico archaeological site is part of the Supe Valley Master Development Plan (2005), promoted by the Caral Archaeological Zone and formalized by Law No. 28960 (2006).
From 2017 to 2024, the ZAC executed the Public Investment Project Recovery of sectors A and B of the Monumental Archaeological Zone of Penico in the Supe Valley, aimed at enhancing the value of the site through a comprehensive management model that includes systematic archaeological research, the conservation and restoration of monumental structures, the delimitation and titling of the archaeological property, the enabling of visiting circuits for the public, the development of linkage with the community of the Penico Population Center and the dissemination of knowledge through publications, exhibitions and educational materials.
The book about Penico is a product of the strategy to enhance archaeological heritage, by facilitating access to scientific knowledge, and reaffirms the role of the ZAC as a protective entity and promoter of social development based on identity, memory and scientific knowledge. The publication is available free of charge in PDF format on the institutional website:
https://www.zonacaral.gob.pe/publicaciones/2025-penico
Data
The international Greek media, specialized in science and history, Greek Reporter, included Penico--called the City of Social Integration of the Supe Valley (1800-1500 BC)--in its list of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the year 2025. In the article titled The Most Significant Archaeological Discoveries of 2025, the aforementioned media publishes a Top 5 of discoveries made between Egypt, Belize and Peru, positioningto our country as a key reference to understand the development of ancient civilizations worldwide.
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