Piruro facts for kids
Partial view of the site.
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 Location in Peru
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| Location |  PeruHuamalíes Province, Huánuco |
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| Coordinates | 9°22′43.98″S 76°42′16.44″W / 9.3788833°S 76.7045667°W |
Piruro is an amazing ancient place in Peru. It's an archaeological site, which means it's a spot where people lived a very long time ago. We can still find clues about their lives there! Piruro is located in the Huánuco Region, in a place called Huamalíes Province, Tantamayo District. The government of Peru officially recognized Piruro as a special National Cultural Heritage site on June 18, 2002.
The Piruro site has two main parts. They are called Piruro I and Piruro II. People lived here for a very long time! The oldest signs of human life at Piruro date back to about 3,000 to 2,500 years before Jesus was born. This was during a time called the Andean preceramic period. People continued to live and build here all the way up to the time of the Inca Empire.
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Piruro II Fortress
The Piruro II Fortress is found on the right side of the Tantamayo River. It sits very high up, over 3,800 meters (about 12,500 feet) above sea level.
Discovering the Fortress
The first times archaeologists looked closely at this fortress were during explorations by Bertrand Flornoy. He visited the area around 1957 and 1975. Later, between 1968 and 1970, Lois Girault led excavations. These are like careful digs to find old things.
How Old is Piruro II?
Scientists used a method called radiocarbon dating on things found at the site. This method helps them figure out how old something is. The tests showed that the fortress was built between 1930 and 2100 years before Jesus was born. This means it was built during the Andean preceramic period, even before pottery was widely used!
Building Style
Lois Girault found parts of buildings made from cut stones. These stones looked similar to those found at another famous ancient site called Kotosh. Some walls also looked like those from the Chavín culture. The fortress walls are made with stones that were cut into square shapes and were all about the same size.
What the Fortress Looks Like
The main building at Piruro II has five stories. It has rectangular doors and windows on its front. In front of the building, there is a large open area that looks like a park. In the middle of this area, there are remains of a structure made of stone and mud. It is partly buried underground.
Today, the main building is surrounded by stone walls that are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. These walls have two rectangular doors that let you go inside. Next to the building, there is also a stone tower that is 4 meters (13 feet) tall. This tower is close to the back of the building where some stones stick out. These stones were used like a ladder to climb up.
See also
In Spanish: Piruro para niños
