Buena Vista is an 8 hectare (20 acre)

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

about 25 miles inland in the Chillon River Valley and an hour's drive north of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, the capital. It is in the

Santa Rosa de Quives District Santa Rosa de Quives is a district in the middle of Canta Province, Lima Region in Peru. It is bordered by Carabayllo District on the west, Huamantanga District on the north, Lachaqui and Arahuay districts on the east, and Carabayllo District ...

, Canta Province, in the foothills of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. The site was first excavated by Frederic Engel (1987). He obtained radiocarbon dates of artifacts that pertained to the Early Preceramic Period (9700 ± 200 uncalibrated radiocarbon years

before present Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...

), and to the Early Intermediate Period (1960 ± 80 uncalibrated radiocarbon years before present).

Temple of the Fox

In June 2004, archaeologist Robert Benfer and his team discovered Buena Vista's most significant feature—the Temple of the Fox. It is named for the mural flanking the temple entrance, which depicts a fox curled up inside a llama.Anne Bolen, "The New World's Oldest Calendar: Research at a 4,200-year-old temple in Peru yields clues to an ancient people who may have clocked the heavens"
, ''Smithsonian Magazine'', May 2007, accessed 2 Nov 2010 The Temple of the Fox dates back approximately 4200 years to a civilization that occupied the area a few millennia before the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

.Richard Lovett, "Oldest Observatory in Americas Discovered in Peru"
''National Geographic'', May 2006, accessed 2 Nov 2010 These ancient peoples had no writing system, and their name was not preserved; they are considered a late pre-ceramic culture and are believed to have followed the

Kotosh Kotosh is an archaeological site near the town of Huánuco, Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by ...

religious tradition. Many archaeologists refer to them as the Andeans. The temple complex measures 33 feet tall and 55 feet long. It is most notable for the astronomical

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

at its top, which is the oldest of its kind in the Americas; it predates records of similar artistic and scientific achievements of the region by 800 years. Large rocks placed on a ridge to the east of the observatory entrance served as a calendar. The most prominent rock marked the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

—on that day each year, from the perspective of the temple, the sun would rise directly over the rock. In the hours just before dawn on the summer solstice, a

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

known as the fox rose between two other large rocks on the same ridge. The temple's reverence to the fox, apparent in both the entrance mural and its astrological orientation, may provide clues to the purpose of the temple. Among many

indigenous peoples of South America In South America, Indigenous peoples comprise the Pre-Columbian peoples and their descendants, as contrasted with people of European ancestry and those of African descent. In Spanish, Indigenous peoples are referred to as (), or (). The term ...

, the fox is a symbol of water and cultivation. Benfer hypothesizes that the ancient inhabitants of Buena Vista used the Temple of the Fox to appeal to their gods for good harvests on the summer solstice, which would have been planting time for the civilization. Researchers' discovery of the remains of plants and vegetables inside the temple's offering chamber has supported this theory. The observatory is further distinguished by its sophisticated carvings, and a three-dimensional life-size sculpture of a musician, unique for a period known in that region for two-dimensional reliefs.

Other ruins

The Buena Vista site as a whole includes ruins ranging in age from 10,000 years to fewer than 3,000 years ago. Besides the temple, the site encompasses a ceremonial center, stepped pyramids, and residences for the elites and for commoners. These buildings are from varying time periods, many of which were built later than the heyday of the temple. Most of these structures have been looted. The Temple of the Fox narrowly escaped

looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

as it was buried beneath several layers of earth.

References

;Sources * * {{Archaeological sites in Peru Buildings and structures completed in the 8th millennium BC Archaeoastronomy Archaeological sites in Peru Archaeological sites in the Department of Lima Andean preceramic Astronomical observatories in Peru 1987 archaeological discoveries Summer solstice Foxes in religion

Temple of the Fox

Other ruins

See also

References