Chankillo (spelled Chanquillo on some websites but very rarely in the published literature) is a ceremonial center and solar observatory located within an area of rock outcrops and sand ramps in the Casma-Sechin river valley of arid coastal Peru. Based on a combination of AMS radiocarbon dates and dendrochronological principles from wooden room lintels, the site was constructed between about 2000 and 2350 years ago. Recent archaeoastronomical investigations suggest that the site was partly created to observe the movement of the sun through the solar year, solstice to solstice.
Structures at Chankillo include a fortified temple, a ceremonial-civic area with buildings, a plaza, and storage facilities, and several smaller scattered buildings, within an area of about 4 square kilometers. A 300 meter long hilltop structure with massive walls, restricted gates and parapets is also an important component of Chankillo.
Thirteen Towers at Chankillo
Chankillo's astronomical feature is a line of thirteen cubic stone blocks, called the Thirteen Towers, arranged along the ridge of a low hill. The line runs due north/south, but the southern-most towers are slightly skewed to the southwest.
The blocks vary in size, from 75 to 125 meters square and 2-6 meters in height, but they are regularly spaced at intervals between 4.7 and 5.1 meters. Each tower has a pair of inset staircases leading to the summits.
Landscape Chronologies
Two apparent viewing platforms are present at Chankillo, for viewing at sunrise and sunset. One on the west is within a restricted passageway in a ceremonial building near the towers; one on the east is in a tiny isolated room in the plaza. From the viewing platforms, the towers mark the range of the sun in the sky, from solstice to solstice. The sight of the towers makes for a compelling image as you can see from the photograph here.
Alterations of the landscape for tracking the movements of the sun and moon are known in South America; it has been suggested as one possible purpose for the Inca ceque system. Spanish chroniclers reported that there were several 'sun pillars' set around the perimeter of the Inca capital of Cusco at the time of the conquest, although none of them exist today.
Chankillo's Archaeology
Artifacts associated with the buildings and plazas suggest a ceremonial function with recurring feasts at Chankillo. Ceramic panpipes, warrior figurines, serving vessels, and abundant maize and shellfish remains have been found as has rooms built to store chicha corn beer. The ceremonial plaza was clearly intended for large groups of people, while the small viewing platforms were reserved for one or two elite individuals.
Chankillo was first investigated by Julio C. Tello. Excavations at Chankillo have been conducted by a Yale University expedition, led by Ivan Ghezzi. Archaeoastronomical research was conducted by a joint expedition with Clive Ruggles, of the University of Leicester.
Sources
More photographs of the site have been passed along to us by investigator Ivan Ghezzi, and presented in the Photos of Chankillo page.
Ancient observatories have been discovered in several places around the world, and a few of them have been collected in Ancient Observatories.
A news release at the University of Leicester has a photo of the Thirteen Towers; and Flickrite Marion Michelsen has a gorgeous photograph she was kind enough to let us use.
Oldest Solar Observatory in Americas Found in Peru, Richard Harris at NPR interview with Ivan Ghezzi. More photographs and an audio version.
Ghezzi, Ivan 2006. "Religious Warfare at Chankillo." In Andean Archaeology III, edited by W. Isbell and H. Silverman: 67-84. Springer.
Ghezzi, Ivan and Clive Ruggles 2007. Chankillo: A 2300-Year-Old Solar Observatory in Coastal Peru. Science 315:1239-1243.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
