On a desert hilltop about 250 miles north of Lima, Peru lies an ancient monument called Chankillo. For years archeologists have pondered over Chankillo’s purpose.

Now comes the news that archaeologist Ivan Ghezzi from the Catholic University of Peru seems to have solved this ancient mystery, and uncovered the use of the mysterious temple. Ghezzi believes that Chankillo is an ancient solar observatory, about 2,300 years old, that was also used as a political tool.

Chankillo was built by a pre-Incan civilization, known to anthropologists as the Chavin. In Chavin culture, knowledge meant power. Ghezzi research indicates that it was this quest for political power that led to the creation of Chankillo.

Ghezzi believes that this ancient observatory demonstrates that the Chavin people had an advanced knowledge of the Sun’s behavior and a sense of control over its movements. Chavin leaders were able to use this knowledge in turn to establish political power and control.

Chankillo also bears strong similarities to other Andean structures that were still in use almost 2,000 years after Chankillo. This new evidence implies that by the time the Incas inhabited this region of Peru, solar astronomy had long been in use.

 [Source: Discover]