Ventarron 1.87

Ventarrón is the site of a 4,500-year-old temple with painted murals, which was excavated in Peru in 2007 near Chiclayo, in the Lambayeque region on the northern coast. The site was inhabited by the Early Cupisnique, Cupisnique, Chavin and Moche cultures.LocationLocated in a valley, the complex covers about 2500 square meters . The site is about 12 miles from Sipán, a religious and political center of the later Moche culture, which flourished from AD 1 to AD 700 . It is about 760km north of Peru's capital of Lima.The central complex of Ventarron also includes the archaeological site of Arenal, located on a hillslope to the southwest.MuralsThe temple and murals were radio carbon dated to 2000 B.C., and are thought to be the oldest discovered in the Americas. One mural on two walls depicts a deer caught in a net; another has an abstract design in red and white. The temple was constructed of bricks of river sediment rather than the stone or adobe later to be traditional in the area; its construction is unique for the northern coast. It contains a stairway leading to a fire altar.Walter Alva, the Peruvian archaeologist making the discovery, commented on the findings: "What's surprising are the construction methods, the architectural design and most of all the existence of murals that could be the oldest in the Americas. He said, "The discovery of this temple reveals evidence suggesting the region of Lambayeque was one of great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru."