10 Mysterious Archaeological Discoveries From South America

Hi everyone, it's Katrina! From cat claws made of metal to enormous treasure lost at sea, here are 10 archaeological discoveries made in South America. 10. Feline Attire Of all the things you might expect to find in a tomb, this isn't one of them. Scientists were excavating a tomb of a nobleman in Peru when they came across ancient cat claws. Located in the famous archaeological site of Huaca de la Luna, or Temple of the Moon, in northern Peru, the area is home to the ancient Moche culture. While the excavation has been going on for about 20 years, there are still many surprises to be found. The feline claws date back to around 1,500 years ago and were found near the elite man's skeleton. Archaeologists aren't quite sure how they are worn, but they could have been part of a costume used in rituals. The 30-year-old nobleman, who owned the metal cat claw accessories, likely wore them for ceremonial combat as part of a ritual that involved people dressing up like animals. The loser in these rituals was sacrificed, while the winner collected the garments as a symbol of their victory. Big cats played a huge part in the Moche culture and are often depicted on murals, painted on vessels, and carved in figurines. Alongside the metal-lined claws were a copper scepter with the head of a feline, a mask, and earrings, representing the tomb occupant's wealth, as well as ceramic pots and feline fangs. There are also a lot of copper and brass artifacts. Huaca de la Luna was located in the capital city of the Moche Empire, which thrived between 100 and 800 AD. It's believed that human sacrifice played a major role in the Moche's culture and customs and that it was sometimes a long, drawn-out process, with some victims being kept alive for weeks while their blood was drained from their body. This culture was no joke, and scientists still don't know what happened to them. Perhaps it was earthquakes, drought, and catastrophic flooding, but so far, the incredible pyramids and artifacts left behind show us just how powerful they once were. 9. Biggest Terrestrial Animal of All Time In Argentina in 1987, a farmer stumbled across what he thought was a large chunk of petrified wood the size of a person. It turned out to be a single vertebra belonging to a new species of dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus. No complete skeleton has been found, but based on other fossil finds, this dinosaur ranged from about 121 to 131 feet long and weighed about 99 to 110 tons. It lived during the Cretaceous period, between 100 million and 93 million years ago. But evidence of even bigger dinosaurs has turned up in recent years. In 2013, a shepherd in Argentina spotted what looked like a bone protruding from the ground. Local paleontologists were called in, and they spent two weeks unearthing what turned out to be an 8-foot-long femur, the largest ever discovered. The remains belonged to a much larger titanosaur than Argentinosaurus. This newly-discovered species was called Patagotitan majorum, Patago because it was found in Patagonia, Argentina, and Titan because of its large size. It likely measured around 130 feet from head to tail and weighed about 77 tons. Around 84 pieces of fossil were found in the same place, helping scientists to get a complete picture of what the dinosaur may have looked like. The American Museum of Natural History used these pieces to make a model of the skeleton, measuring 122 feet long. Dr. Diego Pol, who helped discover the dinosaur, explained that Patagotitan majorum was close to the maximal limit for terrestrial animals, and that he and his colleagues are stumped as to how 100 million years ago, this subgroup of titanosaur got so huge. Something in the environment must have helped them get so large, but right now, nobody knows why. Based on the evidence we have, it looks like Patagotitan majorum may have been the world's largest terrestrial animal of all time. But you know how it goes. Our knowledge of dinosaurs is always changing. 8. Monteverde Archaeologists unearthed the oldest confirmed remnants of a human presence in South America during the 1970s at the Monteverde Archaeological Site in Chile, near the continent's southern tip. There, they found wads of chewed-up seaweed, which people likely used for medicinal reasons, food scraps, a child's footprint, and evidence of huts dating back 14,000 years. Subsequent excavations yielded signs that people may have arrived at Monteverde as early as 19,000 years ago, but these claims remain controversial and unproven. Items including a communal residence, food remains, clay-fired pits, tools, butchered animal parts, spun grass rope, wooden lances, and human feces certainly prove the prehistoric presence of humans in the area, but exactly how early they first appeared remains disputed. The people who lived at Monteverde gathered over 60 edible plant species and hunted now-extinct creatures including paleocannilids, an ancestor of llamas and alpacas, and elephant-like gomphotheres. Strangely, however, archaeologists did not find any Clovis points at the site, disproving the theory that the Clovis people, who manufactured these stone tools, were the first to arrive in the Americas. Numerous pre-Clovis sites have been discovered since then, including ten in North America and two in South America. Scientists don't know enough about the Monteverde people to say with any confidence who they were and how widespread their population was, and while they hope to get to the bottom of the puzzle, there is no guarantee that they ever will. And now for number 7, but first wanted to say a big thank you to Nickel and Dime Coin Hunter and Nikki Birch for supporting this channel, and we have a new subscriber, which is always exciting! If you are new here be sure to hit that subscribe button and join the Origins Explained family! 7. Sechín Bajo Sechín Bajo is an archaeological site situated on the northwestern coast of Peru that is believed to have served as the capital of a pre-Inca culture between 1800 and 1900 BC. The ruins of a circular plaza, hidden underneath other architecture, is one of the oldest structures ever found in the Americas. It's part of the Sechín Complex, a vast site spanning several kilometers in diameter, and which archaeologists believe represents one large, continuous settlement. Archaeological investigations of the Sechín Complex began in the 1930s, starting with But researchers only started studying Sechín Bajo as recently as 2000. The settlement was centered around a 59-foot-high mound, and evidence yielded from excavations suggests that the site was used for various reasons over an extended time period. On a temple wall nearby, archaeologists found a prehistoric relief frieze, estimated to be between 3,600 and 3,800 years old. The artwork, made from clay mortar, depicts mythological or religious items and symbols. The circular stone plaza suggests that Sechín Bajo may date back even further, perhaps as early as 3,500 BC. Prior to this discovery, archaeologists considered the citadel of Caral to be one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, at about 5,000 years old. This goes back even further. 6. Vilcabamba Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived in northern Peru in 1531 and immediately began claiming territory on behalf of both himself and Spain. But the Inca Empire was already there when he arrived with his 180 men and 30 horses, and although Pizarro eventually seized control over the civilization, it did not back down without a fight. In 1536, the Incas rebelled and retreated deep into the jungle of the Peruvian Andes. The empire launched attacks against the Spanish from Vilcabamba, a secret rebel base that ultimately served as the society's last stronghold. Nestled in a remote mountainous region, Vilcabamba was the capital of several cities throughout the region that the Inca rebels established. Four different leaders ruled over Vilcabamba until it fell to the conquistadores in 1572, and the Incas set it ablaze and abandoned it. The Spanish captured and executed the ruler, Tupac Amaru I, effectively ending the Inca Empire. Over time, nature reclaimed the city and it was largely forgotten. Archaeologists spent over a century trying to find Vilcabamba, which now also goes by the name Espiritu Pampa. It was finally cleared and excavated in recent decades after Vincent Lee, an architect and explorer mapped it out during the 1980s. The jungle foliage at the site was so thick one could hardly see one building from the next, in Lee's words. The ruins consist of a huge hall with 26 doorways, a palace compound, and a series of streets, rooms, and stairways. Due to its remoteness and inaccessibility, the site was never looted or disturbed prior to its rediscovery, making the ruins extremely valuable for gaining archaeological insight into what went on there. 5. Disproportionate Extinction The Great American Biotic Interchange, or GABI, occurred millions of years ago with the emergence of the Panama Isthmus, which connected North and South America, resulting in the large-scale migration of mammals from north to south, but not so much the other way around. Why this movement was so one-sided has long puzzled paleontologists and other experts, some of whom recently collaborated to analyze ancient fossil data from the two continents. Why did animals choose to move south instead of north? Their findings show that South American mammals disproportionately went extinct during the GABI, resulting in decreased diversity and less available candidates for northward migration. This faunal exchange can be seen as a natural experiment. Two continents, each with its own kind of animals, were connected by a narrow land bridge, allowing massive migrations in both directions, said lead study author and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute fellow Juan Carrillo. The effects of this exchange can still be seen today. These statistics speak for themselves, with nearly half of modern South American mammals descending from their North American neighbors, and only 10% of North American mammals coming from the south. But why did so many more South American mammals go extinct in the first place? Researchers aren't sure, but they have proposed several possible causes, including habitat changes and increased competition and predation that came with the GABI. It appears that the North American carnivores who emigrated to South America were more efficient predators, who possibly had specialized teeth and larger brains. Learning about past instances of biodiversity disruptions could potentially help scientists foresee the long-term consequences of the contemporary movement of species. 4. The San Jose The Spanish galleon the San Jose was loaded with treasure when it departed from Panama. Every year, the ship would leave South America packed to the brim with precious metals and Peru and Colombia, and set sail to Spain under guard by a fleet of warships. In 1708, its departure was delayed by the War of Spanish Succession, but the fleet commander decided to set sail anyway. Right off the coast of Colombia, it was attacked by the British and went up in flames, sinking and taking almost $20 billion worth of treasure down with it. For hundreds of years, the ship lay lost off the coast at the bottom of the ocean floor. But in 2015, the Colombian government announced that the ship had been found. Its location has been kept a secret since it is known as the Holy Grail of shipwrecks and many people have an interest in finding the treasure. The problem now is that everyone wants a piece, and the treasure is stuck in a legal battle. Spain, Colombia, the U.S., and the private companies involved all want a piece. There are an estimated 1,000 ships sunk off the coast of Colombia, but archaeologists and historians want to get their hands on the artifacts brought up from the San Jose to share what it contains with the world. 3. Ancient Hallucinogens A 2019 archaeological study details the discovery of what's thought to be the oldest known evidence of human consumption of ayahuasca, a plant-based drug from the Amazon basin that produces strong hallucinations. The finding came in the form of a pouch made from three sewn together fox snouts, which contained what appeared to be traces of the psychoactive substance. Archaeologists happened upon the suspected stash in what is now southwestern Bolivia, and they believe it may date back as far as 1,000 years. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. More specifically, the pouch was found in a rock shelter called Cueva del Chileno, or Cave of the Chileno, which contains evidence of human habitation dating back at least 4,000 Over the years, looters ransacked the site, removing the human bodies and anything else that they suspected was valuable. Thankfully, they left behind some important artifacts that they wrote off as unimportant, including beads, braided human hair, and the pouch, which anthropologist and study author Jose Capriles initially mistook for a leather shoe when he discovered it in 2010. Capriles and his team believe that the pouch belonged to a shaman, and they tested its contents to determine exactly what was in it, besides dried plant remains. The results turned up traces of numerous mind-altering substances, including bufotenine, BZE, cocaine, DMT, psilocin, a chemical component of shrooms, and more that I can't pronounce. Interestingly, the pouch contained evidence of plants that are not native to Bolivia, suggesting that its owner was well-traveled, or well-connected, as Aaron Blakemore reported in National Geographic. In fact, some of the contents derive from plants from hundreds of miles away. This person was moving very large distances or had access to people who were, said Capriles. As psychedelic drug use experiences a noticeable uptick in the US and South America, the reasons for indulging in these substances have changed, as ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna explained. In the past, hallucinogens were largely used for ritualistic and spiritual reasons. Today, many people turn to these drugs for mental health benefits and relief from mood disorders. In McKenna's words, it's used very differently these days, not necessarily a worse way, but a different way. 2. Huge Cat Geoglyph While performing maintenance at the world-famous Nazca Lines in southern Peru, archaeologists discovered the faded image of a cat etched into a hillside. The carving marks the latest discovery among the massive depictions of plants, animals, and other objects that have been found among the Nazca Lines. It dates back to sometime between 200 BC and 100 BC and measures roughly 120 feet across. Ever since the Nazca Lines were first discovered in 1927, experts have periodically turned up more, with the recently identified cat likely being older than any of the other known geoglyphs. It's quite striking that we're still finding new figures, but we also know that there are more to be found. Johnny Isla, Peru's chief archaeologist for the Nazca Lines, said in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, Considering that Japanese researchers found over 140 new geoglyphs at the site last year, it's certainly safe to say that there's likely more where that came from. From the sounds of things, the recent feline discovery nearly went undetected. In a statement, Peru's cultural ministry said that the figure was barely visible and was about to disappear because it is situated on quite a steep slope that's prone to the effects of natural erosion. The agency imposes a strict no-trespassing rule at the Nazca Lines, where even a footprint could damage the fragile etchings. While researchers theorize that the images served as travel markers, the truth is that they're not entirely sure what their purpose was. Now they're scrambling to preserve the Nazca Lines before they become lost to history. 1. LAS LLANAS SACRIFICE In 2018, archaeologists working in northern Peru announced the 2011 discovery of what could be the world's largest single example of child sacrifice. The 140 children at the site, called las llamas, were between 9 and 14 years old when they were killed and buried in a ceremony around 550 years ago. On the same day, around 200 young llamas were also sacrificed. The Chimu Empire sacrificed the children at a time when El Nino was causing severe flooding along the Peruvian coastline. They buried them facing the sea and the llamas facing the Andes to the east. Archaeologists and excavation leader Gabriel Prieto told The Guardian they were possibly offering the gods the most important thing they had as a society. And the most important thing is children because they represent the future. Llamas were also very important because these people had no other beasts of burden. They were a fundamental part of the economy. The site offers concrete evidence that children were sacrificed en masse in ancient Peru, according to Jeffrey Quilter, director of Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. While it's known that child sacrifice occurred throughout parts of the ancient world, such a large burial of youths is seldom heard of or documented. Quilter and his team are working to analyze the children's DNA to see if they were related and exactly where they came from within the Chimu Empire. Thanks for watching! Remember to subscribe if you haven't already and click the notification bell so you don't miss out on more videos like these! See you next time! Bye!