Norte Chico civilization

The Norte Chico civilization (also Caral or Caral-Supe civilization) was a complex Pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, having flourished between the 30th century BC and the 18th century BC. These dates are contemporaneous with the Valdivia culture in Ecuador. They also demonstrate that the Norte Chico civilization of Peru was flourishing at the same time as the Old Kingdom in Egypt, the Early Dynastic Period of Sumer in Mesopotamia, and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in China. It predated the height of the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica by more than a thousand years. The alternative name, Caral-Supe, is derived from Caral in the Supe Valley, a large and well-studied Norte Chico site.
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