Viru Valley facts for kids

The Viru Valley is a special place located on the northwest coast of Peru. You can find it in the La Libertad Region.

Exploring the Viru Valley's Past

In 1946, a big project started in the Viru Valley. It was the first time anyone tried to study how people lived in groups across a whole area in the Americas. This project was led by a famous archaeologist named Gordon Willey.

Instead of just looking at one old village, Willey wanted to understand the entire valley. He wanted to see how different villages worked together and how they were connected to the land around them. His study showed that people chose where to build their homes based on their relationship with nature and their neighbors.

This project taught archaeologists something very important: always look at ancient sites as a whole. Think about how the economy, environment, social life, and politics affected people in the past.

Willey's amazing work inspired many other archaeologists to study the Viru Valley. From 1992 to 1998, Dr. Thomas A. Zoubek explored some of the oldest sites in the middle and upper parts of the valley. He focused on places like Huaca El Gallo/La Gallina, which belonged to the Virú culture, and later the Susanga region.

These excavations helped us learn a lot more about the first farming communities in the valley. They even found the oldest pottery ever discovered on the coast of Peru! This pottery dates back to around 2400 BCE, which means "Before Common Era." That's a very long time ago!

See also

In Spanish: Valle de Virú para niños

• Virú culture
• Chavimochic
• Chao Valley
• Moche valley
• Chicama Valley
• Jequetepeque Valley

Images for kids

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  The Viru Valley is located north of the Chao Valley.