Ancient site · Temple
Sechín Bajo
A large ceremonial site in the Sechín valley, a branch of the Casma valley on the north-central coast of Peru, about 12 km from the sea. In 2008 a German-Peruvian team announced a circular plaza 10–12 metres across dated to about 3500 BCE, which would make it one of the oldest monumental buildings in the Americas.
Later platforms of stone and adobe were raised over sunken circular plazas for some 2,000 years. It stands among many early temples in the Casma valley, including nearby Cerro Sechín with its stone reliefs of warriors and sacrificed victims.
- Dates
- c. 3500–1300 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 9.46° S, 78.27° W
How we know
No writing existed; the oldest building, a sunken circular plaza, is dated by radiocarbon to about 3500 BCE.
Nearby sites
- Chavín de Huántar c. 1200–500 BCE (dates debated)
- Huacas del Sol y de la Luna c. 100–800 CE
- Caral (Sacred City of Caral-Supe) c. 2600–2000 BCE
- Huaca Prieta c. 12,500–2000 BCE
- Sipán (Huaca Rajada) c. 50–700 CE
- Paracas cemeteries (Cerro Colorado) c. 800–100 BCE