RESEARCH AND LEGACY
Immerse yourself in the fascinating discoveries and history of Huaca Montegrande, Peru's 5500-year-old ceremonial archaeological center, whose research rewrites the history of Amazonian cultures and the origin of cacao. Discover how Montegrande is forging a historical legacy that transcends borders, enriches Peru and leaves its mark on the world.
HUACA, SACRED SPACE
The term huaca is derived from the Quechua wak'a or guaca. The Incas named shrines, idols, temples, tombs, mummies, sacred places, animals and those stars from which the ayllus or clans believed they were descended, as if they were ancestors, including the main deities such as the Sun and the Moon. The Huaca Montegrande is the oldest ceremonial temple in pre-Columbian America and marks the birth of religion in the Amazon.
FIRST TRACES
The first archaeological evidence that allowed us to know the existence of Huaca Montegrande was identified in 2005, when we visited the Hermógenes Mejía Solf Museum in Jaén, Cajamarca. Professor Ulises Gamonal Guevara, founder and director of the museum, had managed to recover stone and ceramic artifacts worked with an extraordinary artistic and technological exquisiteness, coming from this specific area.
The Huaca Montegrande is located 3.5 km south of the city of Jaen, Cajamarca, just ten minutes from the Plaza de Armas, in the vicinity of the Montegrande sector, in the Upper Amazon in northeastern Peru.
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Foto: Iñigo Maneiro
REGISTRATION AND DECLARATION OF NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Any type of archaeological intervention in Peru must be carried out through a project authorized by the Ministry of Culture. In this sense, in 2009, with the financial support of the Andean Community, we were able to execute the project entitled: 'Investigation and Valuation of Cultural Heritage in the Northeastern Area of the Marañón', which, although it did not include excavations, allowed the archaeological site of Montegrande to be declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Only after this declaration, it was possible to request from the Ministry of Culture an authorization to carry out archaeological investigations in this important historical site.
HOW DID WE START?
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Foto: Quirino Olivera
On May 28, 2010, we began archaeological investigations at Huaca Montegrande, a milestone that marked the beginning of a deep respect for the history, spirituality and ancestral culture of the region. To thank and ask permission to the Pachamama to explore its entrails, we held a ceremony of Offering to the Earth, an ancestral custom in which we also ask for her blessing and protection. This significant ceremony was attended by the residents of Montegrande, many of whom would eventually become a fundamental part of the excavation team. We also had the presence of Jaime Vilchez, mayor of the Provincial Municipality of Jaén at that time, who accompanied this important act. During the ceremony, coca leaves and corn chicha were offered, accompanied by shurumbo soup, a typical local dish prepared with plantain, which reinforced the link with local tradition.
It is important to note that in 1978, more than three decades before we began our research, the community built a Catholic church on top of the Huaca Montegrande mound. However, the church functioned for only a short time. According to the stories of the grandparents of the area, the babies that were taken to the place got sick with the fright sickness, and some even died. This fact led to the abandonment of the church. With the passage of time, the Huaca Montegrande was sadly converted into a garbage dump.
To begin the archaeological excavations, it was necessary to remove and transport in trucks several tons of garbage, as well as part of the foundations of the Catholic church that still remained at the site.
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Foto: Marina García Burgos
Foto: Iñigo Maneiro
DISCOVERING HISTORY
Implementing an archaeological excavation methodology in this huaca, located in the middle of the Amazonian territory, has been a real challenge. The extreme geographical, meteorological and human conditions resulted in a scenario marked by destruction, abandonment and the low probability of finding archaeological evidence of scientific relevance. However, the archaeological work in Montegrande, carried out for the first time in an Amazonian territory, made it possible to excavate quite large areas of up to 800 m2, identifying even the tiniest archaeological evidence.
One of the greatest discoveries was the burial ritual and the closing of the temples. 5500 years ago, the inhabitants of the Marañón culture developed real civil engineering works to hide the temples inside artificial mounds, giving them the appearance of natural geological formations.
The most remarkable discovery has been the large architectural structure in the form of a spiral, which sheds light on the origin of religion in the Amazon. This structure is built with earth and rocks from the rivers, which symbolize the strength of water and the feminine, as well as with rocks extracted from the hills, which represent the strength of the mountain and the masculine. The spiral of Montegrande would be related to the constellation of Orion, and as it develops in a counterclockwise direction, from the inside out, it would symbolize the path through which the soul travels to the afterlife. In the center of the spiral would be buried the most important tomb of the temple, along with more evidence of the oldest cocoa in the world.
Foto: Iñigo Maneiro
Thanks to our research, we have found evidence of domestication and use of several very important botanical species worldwide, including maize, yucca and Theobroma cacao, whose analysis was published on March 7, 2024 in the journal Scientific Reports by the University of Montpellier - France, with the participation of 23 scientists from various countries around the world.
In the last months, from July to October 2024, sculptures of cacao cobs and seeds made in rock were also discovered.
Foto: Heinz Plenge
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Foto: Heinz Plenge
Foto: Marina García Burgos
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Foto: Marina García Burgos
OTHER FINDINGS
THE JAGUAR
During the excavations, a ceramic sculpture of a jaguar's head was found, as well as ceramic fragments depicting the jaguar's eyes. For the inhabitants of the Marañón culture, who built the great spiral-shaped structure of Montegrande, the jaguar was considered the protective spirit of the cacao tree, a god or deity with the ability to control the spiritual world and transcend between different planes of existence.
Foto: Yutaka Yoshii
THE MACAW
In the manifestations of pre-Columbian cultures, the macaw is present in several important events. Its colorful feathers have been used to make headdresses or crowns to anoint the high authorities or religious leaders of the time. In Montegrande we have registered the ceramic sculpture of the head of a macaw, whose left eye looked at the center of the spiral. A peculiar fact is that it has a dark-colored spot simulating a tear.
Foto: Marina García Burgos
THE SPONDYLUS SHELL
The Spondylus shell, also known as “Mullu”, lives at a depth of 15 to 30 meters in the Pacific Ocean, in the Gulf of Guayaquil. From here, crossing the Andes, it was taken to the temple of Montegrande to be offered to the gods. On the north coast, the Mochicas made cacao cobs in Spondylus shell.
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Collar de Spondylus Ucupe. Foto: Tumbas Reales de Sipán
RESPONSIBLE CONSERVATION
The great architectural structure of Montegrande, built in rock and earth, is characterized as a monument of extreme fragility and vulnerability, as Jaén is a Peruvian Amazonian province characterized by a dry tropical climate.
The Montegrande conservation program contemplates the development of a work methodology in accordance with international conservation standards subscribed by the Peruvian State. The slow and meticulous process of archaeological excavation has favored a regular meteorological management, however, to avoid sudden changes in temperature, the use of awnings has been implemented during the excavation process. In this way, the contractions of the clayey, lithic and bone material under the direct action of the sun, or the impact of the rains that generate a dangerous humidification of the immovable and movable materials, have been reduced to a minimum. For this reason, plasticized and waterproof tarpaulins mounted on bamboo structures have been used.
Foto: Quirino Olivera
Foto: Quirino Olivera
VALUE ENHANCEMENT, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Once the discovery of the tomb of the highest religious hierarchy is achieved, which would be buried in the center of the majestic spiral structure of Montegrande, and the conservation program is completed, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, through the National COPESCO Plan, with a public investment of S/. 10 000.000.00 (ten million and 00/100 soles), will execute a project for the enhancement of Montegrande, called: “Improvement of the Public Tourist Services of the Surroundings of the Montegrande Archaeological Sanctuary, in the district of Jaen, province of Jaen, department of Cajamarca”.
Foto: Gloria Aguinaga