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Archaeologists unearth 4000-year-old temple and theater in Peru
Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of what appears to be a 4000-year-old temple and theater in coastal Peru.
The discovery was made at the archaeological site La Otra Banda, Cerro Las Animas, located near the city of Chiclayo off the northern Coast of Peru, according to a news release from the Field Museum.
Researchers started digging at the site last month after the local government alerted them to looting happening near the traditional town of Zaña. Scientists needed to “study the area before it was destroyed,” the local government said.
The excavation – led by scientist Luis Muro Ynoñán – revealed walls of mud and clay just six feet beneath the surface and evidence suggesting that the structure was once home to an ancient temple. “It was so surprising that these very ancient structures were so close to the modern surface,” said Muro Ynoñan in the statement.
Peru’s Pontifical Catholic University/Handout via REUTERS
“We think that a large temple was built into the side of the mountain, and we’ve found one section of it,” said Muro Ynoñan. The Ministerio de Cultura, or Ministry of Culture in Peru said special ceremonies were held inside the temple.
The team also uncovered what appeared to be a small theater with a “stage-like platform.”
“This could have been used to perform ritual performances in front of a selected audience,” said Muro Ynoñan.
Among the most interesting findings was a carving of a mythological bird creature etched into a mud panel by one of the theater’s staircases. Muro Ynoñán described it as an “anthropomorphic bird” with “some reptilian features.”
He and his team have found similar representations of the mythological creature on other archaeological digs that date back to the Initial Period, roughly 4,000 years ago.
Peru’s Pontifical Catholic University/Handout via REUTERS
The findings, Muro Ynoñán said, could shed light on unanswered questions about the origins of ancient religion in Peru.
“The Initial Period is important because it’s when we first start to see evidence of an institutionalized religion in Peru,” says Muro Ynoñan. “The bird creature at this temple resembles a figure known from the Chavín region, nearly 500 years later. This new site could help reveal the origins of this religion.”
According to the release from the Field Museum, the temple predates Machu Picchu – Peru’s most well-known archaeological site located in Cuzco – by roughly 3,500 years. The Incas built Machu Picchu around 600 years ago.
A Georgia county’s emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people and wounded nine others, records released Friday by Barrow County show.
Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.
Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with an automated message saying there was a “high call volume,” WAGA-TV reported.
One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.
Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.
“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,'” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”
Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.
“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?” one caller asked.
“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now,” the operator responded. “We have a lot of calls coming in.”
More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.
“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”
The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Thursday that the suspect rode the school bus on the day of the shooting with the assault-style rifle concealed in his backpack.
He then asked a teacher for permission to go to the front office to speak with someone, and when he received it, he was allowed to take his backpack with him, GBI said. He then went to a restroom, where he hid, and then eventually took out the weapon and started shooting, investigators said. A knife was also found on him when he was arrested.
According to investigators, the suspect enrolled at Apalachee High on Aug. 14, and between Aug. 14 and the day of the shooting, he was absent for nine days of school.
The family told CBS News that the suspect’s maternal grandmother had visited the school the day before the massacre to discuss the suspect’s alleged behavioral issues.
The suspect has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.
The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.
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