Caballo Muerto facts for kids
Caballo Muerto is an ancient archaeological site. It is located on the northern coast of Peru. You can find it in the Moche Valley, near the town of Laredo. This site is a group of old mound structures. They were built during two important periods: the Initial Period (around 2100–1200 BC) and the Early Horizon (around 1200–200 BC).
The site became very important during the time of the Cupisnique culture. It includes about twelve main buildings. These buildings were constructed on platforms that fit together. One of the most important buildings here is the Huaca de los Reyes. The Peruvian government has officially recognized Caballo Muerto as a part of Peru's Cultural Heritage.
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Where is Caballo Muerto?
The site is in the middle part of the Moche valley. It sits on the north side of the Moche River. It is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) northeast of Laredo, Trujillo. It is also about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city of Trujillo, Peru. The entire area covers about 600 hectares. Experts believe around two thousand people lived there long ago.
How Caballo Muerto Was Found
Archaeologist Michael E. Moseley discovered Caballo Muerto in 1972. He was from Harvard University at the time. He was leading a big project in the Chan Chan-Moche Valley. Other archaeologists also worked on the site. These included Luis Watanabe, Thomas G. Pozorski, and Jorge Ruiz Barcellos.
When People Lived Here
It is thought that people lived at Caballo Muerto from about 1500 BC to 400 BC. This time is known as the Middle Formative period. The people of Caballo Muerto were part of the Cupisnique culture. This culture was a direct ancestor of the later, great Moche civilization.
What Caballo Muerto Looks Like
The Caballo Muerto site has buildings made of stone and adobe. Adobe is a type of brick made from earth and straw. Mud was used to hold the bricks together. There are about twelve ceremonial buildings here. They are built on raised platforms. The Huaca de los Reyes is one of them.
Many of these buildings have a special "U-shaped" design. This shape was common for Cupisnique sites. The walls of the buildings were decorated. They had carvings of snakes, cats, and other images.
Besides the Huaca de los Reyes, other important buildings include:
- Huaca Herederos
- Huaca La Virgen
- Huaca La Cruz
Building these sites took a lot of effort. A huge amount of material was used. It is estimated that about 510,000 cubic meters of stone and clay were moved. This construction happened over about 500 years.
Huaca Herederos
Huaca Herederos Chica is a very large site within Caballo Muerto. Archaeologists dug here from 1970 to 1973. Parts of it are now damaged. This mound shows many layers of building and living. People lived and built here for about 1,000 years. Each time, they would build new structures on top of older ones. There were also times when the site was left empty.
Some parts of the buildings here are similar to other ancient sites. These include sites like La Galgada (archaeological site) and Huaricoto in the highlands. They also share features with sites in the coastal Casma Valley. Huaca Herederos Chica was left empty from 1200–400 BC. But then, people came back and rebuilt it later. This happened in the late Early Horizon period (400–200 BC).
Huaca de los Reyes
The Huaca de los Reyes is the most important building at Caballo Muerto. It has been studied a lot. It has a very complex structure with the typical "U-shaped" layout. It also has many platforms built on top of each other. There are stairs to reach different levels. The site also has open plazas and large halls with many columns.
The walls of Huaca de los Reyes have special carvings called friezes. There are also huge clay heads. These heads show characters with cat-like faces. They look a bit like the style of the Chavin people. But these heads at Huaca de los Reyes were made even earlier than the Chavin ones.
How People Lived
The people of Caballo Muerto had a clever way to get food. They used irrigation canals to bring water to their farms. This helped them grow crops in the desert. For protein, they hunted animals like deer. Later, they also ate llamas. The Cupisnique people of Caballo Muerto were the direct ancestors of the great Moche civilization.
See also
In Spanish: Caballo Muerto para niños
