Chankillo: The Thirteen Towers Were a Calendar Visible to the Eye

Around 500 BCE, people in Peru’s Casma Valley built a line of thirteen earthen and stone towers along a ridge. The towers rise, fall, and rise again, creating a horizon divided by repeated gaps. Fixed viewing points stand on both sides of the line. From those positions, the Sun rises or sets through different gaps as the seasons move forward.

Around 500 BCE, people in Peru’s Casma Valley built a line of thirteen earthen and stone towers along a ridge. The towers rise, fall, and rise again, creating a horizon divided by repeated gaps. Fixed viewing points stand on both sides of the line. From those positions, the Sun rises or sets through different gaps as the seasons move forward.

Around 500 BCE, people in Peru’s Casma Valley built a line of thirteen earthen and stone towers along a ridge. The towers rise, fall, and rise again, creating a horizon divided by repeated gaps. Fixed viewing points stand on both sides of the line. From those positions, the Sun rises or sets through different gaps as the seasons move forward.

Around 500 BCE, people in Peru’s Casma Valley built a line of thirteen earthen and stone towers along a ridge. The towers rise, fall, and rise again, creating a horizon divided by repeated gaps. Fixed viewing points stand on both sides of the line. From those positions, the Sun rises or sets through different gaps as the seasons move forward.