Pikimachay

Piki Mach'ay (Quechua piki flea, mach'ay cave, "flea cave", also spelled Pikimachay, Piquimachay, where machay means "drunkenness", "to get drunk" or "a spindle packed with thread") is an archaeological site in the Ayacucho Valley of Peru [1]. Richard S. MacNeish was the first archaeologist to explore Piki Mach'ay [1]. The cave is part of the Ayacucho complex, a culture defined by several cave sites including Jaya Mach'ay [1]. Piki Mach'ay yielded some of the oldest plant remains in Peru, including an 11,000-year-old bottle gourd [1]. Strata from later periods at the site revealed fishtail point arrows, manos, and metates [1].