Paloma (archaeological site)

Paloma is an archaeological site in Peru, located 65 km south of Lima in Chilca District, Cañete Province. Based on radiocarbon dating, it was a village from roughly 5700 to 2800 BCE. This corresponds to the late Preceramic IV and Preceramic V periods. It is one of the earliest villages in the Americas that archaeologists have been able to date stratigraphically. It is on the north edge of the Chilca River valley, in hills separating the main valley from a dry canyon called Quebrada de los Perdidos. The inhabitants would have been "within easy walking distance" from both the Chilca River itself (7-8 km south) and the Pacific coast, 3-4 km west. The site is bounded by coastal hills on the north and south. Paloma lies on the edge of the lomas - areas where moisture from fog allows plants to grow in an otherwise arid region. However, how the ancient settlement got access to fresh water is not clear. There are several possibilities: first, the inhabitants could have dug wells down to the water table. Second, a spring located about five minutes' walk east of the village may have provided water (it is possibly intermittent and was recorded by archaeologists in June 1976 but was not afterward). Finally, sand-lined pits may have been used to trap moisture from fog.