Caral

At over 5000 years of age, Caral is the oldest civilization in the Americas – an elaborate complex of pre-Inca pyramids, temples and houses as old as the Pyramids of Egypt. Many believe it to be a “missing link” or archaeological “mother city”.
It is in pristine condition – nothing else has been built there over the centuries. No trace of warfare has been found – battlements, weapons or mutilated bodies. In one pyramid, ornate flutes made from condor and pelican bones have been found. There is evidence that the culture took drugs and perhaps aphrodisiacs. It hit the headlines in 2001 when Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady revealed the true age of the settlement through use of radiocarbon dating.