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Science 2 March 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5816, pp. 1239 - 1243
DOI: 10.1126/science.1136415
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Research Articles

Chankillo: A 2300-Year-Old Solar Observatory in Coastal Peru

Ivan Ghezzi1,2,3* and Clive Ruggles4

The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run north to south along a low ridge within a fourth-century B.C.E. ceremonial complex in north coastal Peru. From evident observing points within the adjacent buildings to the west and east, they formed an artificial toothed horizon that spanned—almost exactly—the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun. The Chankillo towers thus provide evidence of early solar horizon observations and of the existence of sophisticated Sun cults, preceding the Sun pillars of Incaic Cusco by almost two millennia.

1 Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Avenida Javier Prado Este 2465, Lima 41, Peru.
2 Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Avenida Universitaria Cuadra 18, Lima 32, Peru.
3 Yale University, 51 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
4 School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ighezzi{at}yahoo.com

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)