There is a hill in the Amazon rainforest that stretches out over two acres of land. It is called Montegrande and, to look at it, it seems like nothing more than another hill. A particularly steep one perhaps, but nothing more than an overgrown mound of earth. For centuries, it was ignored, and, in time, as Peru’s cities and towns stretched further out in the Amazon, farmers even set up their homes on top of it.

Then they started to dig. As the farmers worked the land, they started to uncover sherds of old pots. These, they soon learned, were more than old utensils. These were relics of the past, and they were more than 1,000 years old.

Their homes became an archaeological site. In 2010, archaeologist Quirino Olivera and his team started digging into the Montegrande hill, and soon discovered what they were excavating wasn’t a hill at all. It was a massive pyramid, built by a forgotten civilization in the Amazon rainforest – and it was over 3,000 years old.

Montegrande archaeological site, Peru. ( Quirino Oliveria Nuñez )

The Empty Amazon Theory

The pyramid at Montegrande changed everything. Here, for the first time, was hard proof that ancient civilizations had thrived in the Amazon rainforest.

Ancient civilizations had certainly flourished in South America, but, up until recently, it had been believed that the Amazon itself was a place few dared to tread for long. The few people who lived there in ancient times, archaeologists believed, were sparsely separated, nomadic people. They would wander from place to place, setting up the odd short-lived farm before moving on.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America, they wrote stories about massive towns in the Amazon full of farms and supporting whole fleets of boats – but there’d never been anything to back up what they were saying. Every piece of archaeological evidence we could find suggested that no one in the Amazon had stayed still long enough to build a home.

Discoveries like Montegrande, though, are changing the history of a nation. Now it’s believed that, at its peak, there may have been as a many as 5 million people living in the Amazon. They built civilizations and cultures that are completely forgotten to time. The only way we’ll ever know who these people were is by sifting through their bones.

Skeleton and shells found at the Montegrande site. (Fomento a la Inversión Privada y Turismo-JAEN )

A Forgotten Civilization

The people who built the Montegrande, the archaeologists have since learned, had an incredibly sophisticated society . They didn’t just build one pyramid and leave. They first built it in 1,000 BC, but they reworked it and rebuilt it at least eight times. Before their empire ended, they had lived in that one spot for more than a thousand years.

Al final, estaban construyendo muros de seis pies (1,83 metros) para proteger a su pueblo y estableciendo oficinas donde los gobernantes gobernaban a su pueblo. Construyeron una cuadrícula de casas a lo largo de la orilla del río, tenían una religión propia elaborada y eran parte de una red comercial elaborada que se extendía por todo el Perú moderno.

Tienen todo un milenio de historia que solo se insinúa en sus restos. Lo que sabemos es solo un raspado de sus ruinas, pero las enormes pirámides que dejaron atrás son suficientes para dar una idea increíble de su religión.

Ilustración de una ciudad antigua en el Amazonas, con licencia para su reutilización. ( Los cuervos)

El Templo Espiral

En la parte superior del montículo hay una espiral de rocas, enrolladas en forma de una enorme serpiente o, tal vez, en el remolino de la concha de un caracol. Podrías caminar a lo largo de la espiral como si estuvieras abriéndote camino a través de un laberinto. Cada paso te llevaría más abajo del suelo hasta llegar al centro, cuarenta pies (12,19 metros) por debajo del primer escalón.

En el centro de la espiral, las personas que alguna vez vivieron aquí quemaron hogueras. Probablemente se trataba de fuegos sagrados, utilizados con algún propósito religioso, y hay motivos para pensar que se trataba de drogas.

Los arqueólogos han encontrado cucharas de rapé y molinillos de mortero que aún contienen residuos de semillas alucinógenas de vilca. Estas semillas no crecieron donde vivían, fueron importadas, y tener en sus manos estas cosas podría ser la razón por la que esta civilización creó una red comercial tan elaborada.

Sitio arqueológico de Montegrande, Perú. (forosperú)

Las semillas, cree Olivera, podrían ser la razón por la que les fascinaban las espirales. Las personas que toman estas semillas tienden a alucinar luces intermitentes en forma de espiral. Los sacerdotes que vivieron aquí pueden haberlo tomado por una visión divina, y esa alucinación podría haber cambiado toda su cultura.

Las espirales eran una obsesión para la gente que vivía aquí. Dentro de los restos de su civilización, todavía quedan caracoles esparcidos por todas partes. Los muertos honrados estaban cubiertos de ellos cuando morían, y la forma llena cada parte de su sociedad. Dios, parecían haber creído, era algo a lo que podían llegar cuando trituraban semillas de vilca y liberaban sus mentes.

Edificio en forma de espiral en el sitio arqueológico. (Arqueología del Perú)

El señor de los caracoles

A mile away from Montegrande, the researchers found a second pyramid – but this one tells a far darker tale.

Buried in the second pyramid were the remains of 22 children. Many of their bones showed signs of malnutrition and sickness, and it seems that they were withering away when they died. Likely, they were brought here when they were ill and sure to die. This was a place apart from the city where a mother could leave her beloved, dying child with the shamans.

The shamans wouldn’t cure them. They didn’t have a magic potion to bring these children back to health. The children brought here weren’t helped – they were made into human sacrifices.

Skeletal remains found at the archaeological site. (elcomercio/ Perú Folklórico )

The bones of the children appear to have been brutalized. A six-year-old is buried there with his pet guinea pig, while a young mother lies there with her newborn child, both decapitated.

Then, apart from them all, are the bones of the priest who sacrificed them. The archaeologists call him “The Lord of Snails”, and he must have been important. He died 2,800 years ago, fairly early in their history, but still has the most glamorous burial site they’ve found.

The Lord of Snails was buried covered from head to toe in 180 snail shells. His face is looking up to the east, toward the rising sun, and toward a new day.

The Lord of Snails. ( forosperu)

A Life in Ruins and Bones

No queda ni una sola palabra escrita por las personas que vivieron aquí. Si sabían leer y escribir, no sabemos ni tenemos lo que escribieron. No sabemos sus nombres. No sabemos sus pensamientos sobre la vida y el amor y la muerte, ni por qué vinieron al Amazonas, ni por qué cayeron un día.

Hasta ahora, ni siquiera sabíamos que existían, o que había civilizaciones antiguas en el Amazonas. Todo lo que tenemos son sus ruinas y sus huesos, pero incluso eso es suficiente para un retrato increíble de la vida de un pueblo que ha sido olvidado durante los últimos 2000 años.