5,000 years ago the first civilization of America was born in Peru, which we now know as CARAL, as old as the Sumeria of Mesopotamia, the Harappa of India, the XIA dynasty of China or the Egyptian civilization in Africa, but the most notable difference with these ancient civilizations is that almost all of these cultures had some contact with each other and were able to exchange products, knowledge, technology, etc. while the CARAL civilization developed alone for thousands of years on the northern coast of Peru without any contact with other civilizations, in complete isolation for thousands of years.
This ancient city developed at the dawn of human civilization, even predating by 1,800 years the other great Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmecs, who developed in what is now Mexico.
This archaeological marvel is located in the valley formed by the Supe River in the city of Barranca, 182 kilometers north of Lima at 350 meters above sea level. According to researchers, Caral dates back 5,000 years. It is therefore today the oldest city in the Americas and one of the oldest in the world. Caral society developed between 3,000 and 1,800 BC.
It is known that those who built Caral possessed a certain degree of mathematical and astronomical knowledge, and that religion was the principal instrument used by the ruling class to strengthen cultural identity and social affiliation among the people, thus exerting control and power over them. Stoves have been found in different locations throughout the city where the population made sacrifices and performed magical and religious ceremonies to their gods. The most notable among these is the famous, large, SACRED STOVE where the ancient inhabitants of Caral performed their grand religious rituals.
The sacred city of Caral began construction 5,000 years ago during the so-called LATE ARCHAIC PERIOD and was occupied for almost 1,000 years. During that time, this population found in the rich Supe Valley the geographical, climatic, and other conditions conducive to the transition to a civilized way of life, eventually achieving a high level of state development that allowed for the construction of 44 human settlements throughout this valley.
Without a doubt, the discovery of Caral changes the history of Peru by tangibly proving that the origin of humankind in the Americas was perhaps not due to a migration from Asia through Alaska, but that the American humankind is likely native to the Americas. While the Sumerians and Egyptians were building pyramids 3,000 years before Christ, the Caral civilization in Peru was doing the same.
The city of Caral was recently discovered in 1996 by the Peruvian archaeologist RUTH SHADY in several buildings of the Caral pyramid have been found more than one hundred and fifty small sculptures modeled in uncooked clay of 4 to 7 centimeters in height, most of these figures given their antiquity were broken or were missing hands or legs, were part of rituals linked to the renovation of buildings and fertility in the sculptures it is noted that they wear different outfits that denote the hierarchy of the Caral society, this archaeological evidence would be the oldest sculptures in America. 
To construct monumental pyramid-shaped buildings and ensure their stability, they applied engineering knowledge, both structural and material strength, especially geometric shapes for the layout of circular plazas. They are known to have used stone and wooden implements, ropes, and bags made of plant fibers to transport materials, and to paint the walls of their temples with mineral pigments. Notable for their original design are the five sacred hearths, all connected and equipped with underground ventilation that ensured the fire was always lit, ingeniously harnessing the power of the wind.
In Caral society, all social activities were interconnected: politics, religion, economics, and agriculture. Religious leaders were also political leaders who specialized in medicine, astronomy, and other fields. These leaders mediated between the people and the supernatural powers of the ancestors and the gods. Major festivities took place in public squares, where they held grand ceremonies involving the ingestion of a hallucinogenic cactus called wachuma and offerings of flowers, quartz, mollusks, stone and clay artifacts, etc.
But Caral society also had a place for art, as evidenced by the discovery of several wind instruments. This explains why many residents used to play these instruments, and that it was a very popular practice in that city. Giant snails were also found, used as bugles in religious ceremonies. Musical art has played an important role in ancient Peruvian civilizations, an art that has endured through time, even to the Incas.
In general, three sets of wind instruments were discovered: a group of 38 bugles made from llama and deer bones, 32 flutes made from condor and pelican bones decorated with geometric figures, and four antaras or panpipes made of bamboo, tied with cotton thread. All of these instruments are believed to be the oldest made in the Americas.
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