Archaeological ties with Peru enter new phase

Deepening cooperation between China and Peru in the field of cultural heritage has opened a new chapter in archaeological collaboration between the two ancient civilizations.

On Saturday, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Archaeology signed cooperation agreements in Peru with the Caral Archaeological Zone of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, and the Professional School of Archaeology at the National University of San Marcos, Lima, with the aim of jointly conducting archaeological research on Peru's ancient Caral civilization.

This marks the first official cooperation on archaeological fieldwork between China and Peru, and the first time Chinese archaeological institutions are working in South America.

The Caral civilization, which flourished along the northern coast of Peru from approximately 3,000 BC to 1,800 BC, is the earliest-known civilization in the Americas to date.

According to the agreements, both sides will conduct comprehensive archaeological research at sites associated with the Caral civilization. Their cooperation will include field survey and excavation, scientific and technological research, as well as cultural heritage conservation and joint talent training.

Subsequent cooperation will also extend to the sites of the Inca civilization in the Andean highlands, facilitating comparative research between the ancient civilizations of China and Peru.

With the agreements signed, the China-Peru joint archaeological team will launch the first phase of a field survey, exploring the Chancay-Huaral and Supe river valleys, and conducting on-site inspections at key sites, to further refine subsequent excavation plans.

Jia Xiaobing, chair of the Department of World Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology of the CASS, who served as a Chinese representative at the signing ceremony, said this cooperation fills the gap for Chinese archaeological institutions in South American fieldwork.

The Chinese side will obtain firsthand archaeological materials on early American civilizations, facilitating comparative research on ancient civilizations around the Pacific Rim and contributing a Chinese academic perspective to the global study of the origins of early complex societies, Jia said.

The Peruvian side, in turn, will benefit from China's vast practical experience in scientific and technological archaeology, as well as cultural heritage conservation, achieving mutual academic enrichment, Jia added.

Academic exchanges between China and Peru in the field of archaeology have spanned more than half a century. As early as 1973, Xia Nai, then director of the Institute of Archaeology, led an archaeological team to Peru to visit important sites such as the iconic Machu Picchu. The following year, a Peruvian archaeological delegation visited China, marking the beginning of academic exchanges between the two countries.

In recent years, cultural and museum exchanges between China and Peru have continued to deepen. Peruvian artifacts have attracted much attention at ongoing exhibitions such as Maize, Gold, Jaguar: A Grand Exhibition of Ancient Maya and Andean Civilizations at the Capital Museum in Beijing and On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas at the Shanghai Museum.

Meanwhile, the artifacts from China's ancient Shu civilization, including those from the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan province, and the Jinsha site in Chengdu, Sichuan, also traveled to Peru in 2024, enabling Peruvian audiences to witness a dialogue between ancient civilizations across the oceans.