Overview
- An international team led by Jacob L. Bongers reports in Antiquity that Monte Sierpe’s roughly 5,200 pits likely supported exchange and record-keeping functions over time.
- Drone imagery maps the 1.5-kilometer feature into 60-plus segments with distinctive numerical patterns, clarifying organization that was hard to see from the ground.
- Microbotanical analysis from 19 holes recovered maize and plants used for basketry, consistent with goods being placed in lined pits and transported in woven containers.
- A radiocarbon date of about 1320–1405 CE and surface pottery point to Chincha-period activity, with the ridge-top site strategically located near pre-Hispanic roads and Inca administrative centers.
- Researchers note parallels between the segmented layouts and local khipus and propose an Inca-era tribute accounting role, while emphasizing the hypothesis remains provisional and will be evaluated with expanded sampling, additional dates, and khipu comparisons.