Early New World Monumentality

12. Monumental Architecture Arising from an Early Astronomical-Religious Complex in Perú, 2200–1750 BC

12 Monumental Architecture Arising from an Early Astronomical-Religious Complex in Perú, 2200–1750 bc Robert A. Benfer Jr. This chapter advances the hypothesis that astronomer-priests directed the construction and adornment of the first monumental architecture in the Americas, the Late Preceramic stepped platform mounds in coastal Peruvian valleys. These astronomer-priests managed installation of the earliest public art at the Late Preceramic site of Buena Vista, Chillón Valley, Perú. The art is an essential part of the astronomical complex. Constructions included walls, monuments, and special astronomical instruments aligned to sky events. Art included three-dimensional and low-relief sculptures, paintings, and incised figures. Media ranged from stone to paint to mud plaster. Offerings were directed to the earth in special adorned semi-subterranean structures placed on the top of mounds. Unlike early accumulations in North America discussed in this volume, these mounds were purposeful constructions built over relatively short periods of time. I argue that their construction and maintenance was directed by astronomer-priests who managed offerings to the earth and fit those ceremonies to an astronomical calendar that functioned to mark agricultural and fishing times of economic importance. This hypothesis differs from others presented in this volume, although it is not inconsistent with them. It is directly testable. Preliminary fieldwork finds evidence for this hypothesis in early monumental constructions in Peruvian coastal valleys that date from 3500 bc to 1750 bc. Investigations at the very early Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe from Turkey have defined only ritual activities (Schmidt 2000). A hole drilled through the top of one of the megaliths (Figure 7, Enclosure D-P30 in 314 · Robert A. Benfer Jr. Peters and Schmidt 2004) could suggest an astronomical function that has not yet been studied. The finding in Turkey that the earliest megalithic architecture was associated with a religious site rather than a domestic settlement parallels our findings in Perú, where the earliest monumental architecture appears to have been associated with ritual centers, probably pilgrimage sites, with astronomical orientations and alignments and offering chambers (Benfer et al. 2010). I will argue below that the ritual function was a practical one. Special structures placed on top of the coastal platform pyramids in Perú served simultaneously as observatories for sky events and chambers for offerings to the earth. Such structures are referred to as ushnus in Andean archaeology, a topic to be discussed in more detail below. The oldest Peruvian monumental sites with secure astronomical alignments are Sechín Bajo (Fuchs and Lorenz 2009) and Salinas de Chao (Benfer et al. 2010), which was excavated by Alva (1986). These sites date to 3500 bc (Alva 1986; Fuchs and Lorenz 2011). Here I will focus on the Late Preceramic site of Buena Vista (Figure 12.1), which dates from 2200 bc to 1750 bc (Table 12.1). Elsewhere I have defined the Late Preceramic association of offerings to the earth with management of sky events by naked-eye astronomical instruments as the Buena Vista Astronomical/Religious Tradition (Benfer et al. 2010). This coastal valley tradition relates to the more Andean Kotosh Religious Tradition (Moseley 1992a) through a Kotosh-style Mito offering chamber (Bonnier 1997) found in the coastal site of Buena Vista. The Buena Vista tradition continued throughout prehistory in Perú (Benfer and Adkins 2009; Benfer et al. 2010). The stairway to the top of M-I, the principle mound at the Buena Vista site, appears to face the river valley in a general sort of way. However, I will show below that the main stairway is also aligned with a major lunar standstill—the most southerly moonrise and the time of increased probability of multiple lunar eclipses and rare solar eclipses (Adkins and Benfer 2009). Special structures, observational instruments, were built on and in the platforms asymmetrically in order to be correctly oriented toward sky events such as the rising and setting of the sun, the moon, and constellations . Entrances to temples served as observational positions. At Buena Vista, there are multiple reference points (up to six) for the three observing points in the temple. As many as three astronomical events may be seen from a single viewing point over different reference points (Benfer et al. 2010). What function did these observatories serve? Figure 12.1. Late Preceramic monumental architecture at Buena Vista. Arrows show azimuths. Table 12.1. Radiocarbon dates from Late Preceramic component at Buena Vista Sample #/ Citation Lab # Provenience Radiocarbon...