Pernil Alto

The Pernil Alto archaeological site is located in Rio Grande District of Palpa province in the Ica Region of Peru [1]. Although the site was occupied earlier, archaeologists traced the adoption of agriculture by the inhabitants from about 3800 BCE to 3000 BCE [1]. The excavators cite radiocarbon dates which establish Pernil Alto as the oldest known inland and sedentary agricultural village in the Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia [1]. The date at which agriculture became the main source of subsistence for the inhabitants of Pernil Alto was 3300 BCE [1]. Pernil Alto was discovered in 2001 by the German Archaeological Institute [1]. Pernil Alto is located on a terrace approximately 10 metres above the irrigated valley of the Rio Grande de Nazca River at an elevation of 400 metres [1]. The most important cultivated crops were sweet potatoes and lima beans [1].