5200 mysterious holes in the Peruvian Andes
Thousands of holes arranged in a serpent-shaped pattern on Mount Sierpe in Peru may have been a monumental Inca accounting device for trade and taxes.
A hillside in Peru covered in 5,200 holes in a row may have been a giant accounting device.
Stretching along the slopes of Mount Sierpe (“Serpent Mountain”) in a snake-like shape, the so-called “Strip of Potholes” – 1.5 kilometers long – has intrigued archaeologists since it was discovered almost a century ago.
Various hypotheses have been put forward regarding the purpose of the holes, including suggestions that they were graves, defensive structuresor which would have been used to water storage or cultivation during the Inca Empirewhich lasted from 1438 to 1533.
To get a clearer idea of the purpose of the holes, a new study, this Monday in Antiquityanalyzed sediment samples from two dozen holes.
The analysis revealed pollen from food cropsincluding corn, amaranth, chillies and sweet potatoes, as well as wild plants, traditionally used in the construction of baskets and rafts.
However, the holes are too far from the fertile areas where these plants would grow for the pollen to have been carried by the wind.
Researchers suggest that local cultural groups chincha – which existed approximately from 900 to 1450 AD – lined the holes with plant materials and deposited goods in them, transported in woven baskets loaded with mud.
“The data supports the idea that people brought goods to the site and deposited them in the holes. We think that initially it was a direct exchange market. Then it was transformed into a large-scale accounting device – already under Inca rule”, the leader of the investigation explained to . Jacob Bongersfrom the University of Sydney.
It was around 1480 that the Chincha came under Inca rule.
The idea for the accounting device results from aerial images, which allowed a more accurate count of the number of holes — revealing that there are around 5,200 — and a better analysis of variation in layout.
Historical sources suggest that around 100,000 people lived in the neighboring Pisco and Chincha valleys.
