Ancon Archaeological Site

Ancon is an archaeological site in the north of the Bay of Ancon, in the Ancón District, on the central coast of Peru [1]. It is one of the most important centers of the Peruvian archeology and features a vast necropolis of the pre-Hispanic era, with countless funerary sites [1]. Permanent occupation in Ancon is documented throughout all periods of Andean history [1]. The oldest evidence of human occupation dates back 10,000 years ago to the preceramic period [1]. In 1870, during the construction of the railroad from Ancon to Pasamayo, the first large ancient tombs were discovered here [1]. In 1875, German scholars Wilhelm Reiss and Alphons Stubel visited in the area, and made several excavations in and around the area of the necropolis [1]. In the Archaic period, sedentary fishermen and collectors of seafood and shellfish lived in the Bay of Ancon; this is evidenced by the presence of large middens, specifically in the area of Las Colinas [1].