Ancón is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of northern Lima Province 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 ...

. It is a popular

beach resort A seaside resort is a city, town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements such as in t ...

destination 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 ...

, visited every summer by millions of people from

. It is the largest district of the Lima Province. Ancon was officially established as a district on October 29, 1874, segregating itself from the

Carabayllo district Carabayllo () is one of the 43 districts of the province Lima in Peru. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province and was created district by General José de San Martín in August 4, 1821 at which time it was the only district to occ ...

. The current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(''

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'') of Ancón is John Barrera Bernui. The district's

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

is 2.

History

Ancón is an important site in Peruvian history and archaeology. This was a fishing town and as a burying ground for pre-

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 ...

Indigenous civilizations of Ancon-Supe, which flourished about 4,000 years ago as one of the oldest societies in Peruvian history. In Ancon (archaeological site), the ridges of gravel and sandy soil were littered with

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

s, bones, and remnants of tattered handwoven cloth. Beneath the surface, grave robbers found mummified bodies with all the accompanying grave goods in shallow graves. In this region, the preservation of the bodies was due to the dry climate, and also reportedly, the

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

and other preservative elements contained in the soil. In the late 1800s, archaeologists digging here found bodies, sometimes

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

ed, adorned with beads,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

earrings and bird feathers, and swathed in richly colored blankets or

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

cloth, with jars of provisions beside them. Tablets fashioned of cloth, stretched upon frames of wood and painted with figures and characters, described the virtues of the deceased. Pre-historic Ancón was a fishing village, so many handmade nets were found, along with baskets of woven fibre representing the industries of women. The extension of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in 1870 to Chancay made the Necropolis of Ancón easily accessible to the day visitor. The geologists Reiss and Stubel conducted their excavations at Ancón during the period 1874-1875 because they feared the extent of digging there would quickly deplete the site. In 1884 Stolpe conducted excavations at Ancon on behalf of the Museum of Ethnography in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Modern buildings and old houses dating back to the 19th century can be found in the district's beach area. Ancón has a

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

that exists since 1950. The Treaty of Ancón, that ended the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, was signed on October 20, 1883, ceding Tarapacá to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Geography

The district has a total land

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

of . Its administrative center is located 3 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. ;Boundaries * North: Aucallama District ( Huaral Province) * East: Huamantanga District ( Canta Province),

Carabayllo District Carabayllo () is one of the 43 districts of the province Lima in Peru. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province and was created district by General José de San Martín in August 4, 1821 at which time it was the only district to occ ...

* South: Santa Rosa and Puente Piedra, as well as Ventanilla in the

Constitutional Province of Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Cal ...

* West:

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Political division

The district is divided into 2 populated centers (): * Ancón * Piedras Gordas

Demographics

According to the 2005 census by the INEI, the district has 29,419 inhabitants, a population density of 98.3 persons/km² and 12,990 households. It is the second largest district and the 40th most populous district in Lima.

Beach resort

Ancón used to be a deluxe upscale beach resort during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its sandy soil and dry atmosphere made it a welcome place for persons with pulmonary and bronchial affections. Besides the beach, in 1913, there was a tennis court, one or two hotels, and many cottages. The train trip from Desamparados station in downtown

took about an hour and a half through dry desert. After the population crisis in the city, especially in the north of Lima, close to the old exclusive spas. Some wealthy families started to find for a best place for settle down in summer. And today, the beach remains popular despite the fact that most of the upscale housing has moved to the beaches south of Lima, such as Santa María del Mar, Punta Hermosa, Punta Negra,

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, among others. Image:The harbour at Ancon Peru. Pelicans gather hopefully as the fish catch is gutted.jpg, Ancon, Peru,

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

s gather hopefully at the harbour as the catch is landed.. Image:Ancon2.jpg, Ancon, Peru. Fisherfolk gutting the catch. File:US Navy 100705-N-5319A-219 Members of the Peruvian Marine Drill Team perform at the opening ceremonies of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2010 at Ancon Marine Base, Peru.jpg, Members of the Peruvian Marine Drill Team Ancon Marine Base

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancon District States and territories established in 1874 1874 establishments in Peru