Sacred City of Caral: Earliest Urban Center in the Americas

The Sacred City of Caral developed as an urban center in Peru's Supe Valley from approximately 2600-2000 BCE. The site covers approximately 626 hectares and contains six large pyramidal structures, sunken circular plazas, and residential areas arranged around public spaces. Evidence suggests the inhabitants used a quipu recording system and developed a stratified society. The site lacks defensive structures, indicating the civilization relied on religious and economic organization rather than military control. Caral predated Mesoamerican complex societies by approximately two millennia.