Overview

• Penico opened to the public on July 3 with digitally reconstructed ceremonial halls that allow visitors to envision its prime layout.
• Eight years of excavation revealed 18 structures including a central circular plaza, ceremonial temples, residential complexes, and sculpted murals of pututu conch shells.
• Drone surveys and recent analyses confirm the city's strategic role as a trade hub connecting coastal, highland, jungle communities.
• Finds of human remains, clay sculptures, ritual objects, and shell-and-bead necklaces illustrate the material culture and religious practices of its inhabitants.
• Established around 1800–1500 BC on a hillside 200 miles north of Lima, Penico represents a continuation of the Caral tradition after drought and flooding precipitated its decline.