La Centinela facts for kids
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| Location | Peru |
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| Region | Ica Region |
| Coordinates | 13°27′1″S 76°10′16″W / 13.45028°S 76.17111°W |
La Centinela is an important archaeological site in Peru. It was a busy administrative center for both the ancient Inca people and earlier groups. This means it was a place where leaders made decisions and managed the surrounding area.
Contents
History of La Centinela
A Capital City
La Centinela was once the main city, or capital, of the Chincha kingdom. The Chincha were a powerful group who lived in Peru before the Incas.
Inca and Chincha Working Together
What makes La Centinela special is how the Incas used it. They usually built their own new cities. But here, the Incas took over a big part of the Chincha capital. They added their own buildings while the Chincha people still lived and worked there. It was one of the few places where Incas and another culture shared a major center.
Ancient Roads and Administration
In 1958, a researcher named Dwight T. Wallace made an interesting discovery. He found a network of straight roads leading out from La Centinela. These roads suggest that the Chincha kingdom had a very organized government. They could manage their land and people from this central spot.
Exploring the Site
Where is La Centinela?
La Centinela is located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Lima, Peru's capital. It sits in the Chincha Valley, very close to the Pacific Ocean. The area around it is covered with farms that use irrigation to grow crops.
Resources and Daily Life
Because of its location, the people of La Centinela had many resources. They used plants from the land and animals for food. They also got a lot of food from the ocean, like fish and shellfish. This mix of resources helped their community thrive.
Buildings and Art
The site has 11 clear pyramid structures. There are also many smaller buildings. Most of these were built using adobe bricks, which are bricks made from mud and straw.
Some of the adobe walls at La Centinela are decorated. They used a special method called Champlevé. This is a way of carving designs into a surface and then filling the carved parts with different colors or materials.
Inside the main Inca building, you can find a unique painting. It has geometric shapes in black and red on a white background. This shows the artistic skills of the people who lived there long ago.
See also
In Spanish: Huaca La Centinela para niños
