Ancient site · Tomb
Paracas cemeteries (Cerro Colorado)
Also known as Paracas Cavernas, Wari Kayan, Paracas Necropolis
Cemeteries on Cerro Colorado, a hill on the desert Paracas Peninsula on Peru's south coast, excavated by Julio Tello from the 1920s. The Cavernas are shaft tombs reused over centuries; sometimes heads of the dead were taken out for rituals and later reburied.
The Wari Kayan necropolis held hundreds of burials of seated bodies wrapped in many layers of finely woven cloth. Their embroidered mantles are considered some of the finest textiles of the ancient Andes.
- Dates
- c. 800–100 BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 13.86° S, 76.33° W
How we know
No writing existed; the burials are dated by radiocarbon and by pottery and textile styles; the location here is approximate.
Nearby sites
- Nazca Lines c. 500 BCE – 500 CE
- Cahuachi c. 1–500 CE
- Caral (Sacred City of Caral-Supe) c. 2600–2000 BCE
- Chavín de Huántar c. 1200–500 BCE (dates debated)
- Sechín Bajo c. 3500–1300 BCE
- Huacas del Sol y de la Luna c. 100–800 CE
Related
- Paracas culture archaeological culture
- The world in 1000 BCE: Out of the Collapse chapter