Peru's Band of Holes: Ancient Marketplace, Inca Tribute Site

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence suggesting that a serpentine array of thousands of holes etched into a Peruvian mountainside served as an ancient marketplace and later an Inca tribute collection site, resolving a century-old enigma in the Andes.

The monument, known as Monte Sierpe or the Band of Holes, stretches 1.5 kilometers along a ridge in the Pisco Valley, about 220 kilometers southeast of Lima. Comprising roughly 5,200 depressions, each 1 to 2 meters wide and 0.5 to 1 meter deep, the structure winds in a snake-like pattern across the landscape. Researchers, led by Jacob Bongers of the University of Sydney, detailed their findings in a study published November 10 in the journal Antiquity, based on sediment analysis and high-resolution drone imagery.

The site's origins trace back to the Chincha Kingdom, a pre-Inca society that flourished from around A.D. 900 to 1450 in the region. Pollen and microscopic plant remains extracted from 19 holes revealed traces of crops such as maize, amaranth, chili peppers, and sweet potatoes, alongside wild plants like bulrush used for basket weaving. Radiocarbon dating of charred wood from one hole placed its use in the 1300s, aligning...