A mysterious Inca-era monument made up of about 5,200 holes in the Andes Mountains may have been a bartering and accounting site hundreds of years ago, a new study suggests.
The holes were placed in neat grids on Monte Serpe (“Serpent Mountain”) in the southern Andes of Peru. The site was likely constructed between 1000 and 1400 AD as a place of exchange under the powerful Chincha kingdom, which had a population of more than 100,000, according to the study. When the kingdom was invaded before Inca Empire The authors suggest that in the 15th century, the “Band of Holes” site may have been reused to collect tribute and taxes from local groups.
The archaeologists came to this conclusion after analyzing thousands of holes using drone technology, which enabled the team to discover “mathematical patterns in the layout of the holes” – meaning they were organized into sections and blocks reminiscent of accounting and record-keeping methods of the time. The researchers also analyzed samples taken from the holes, said the study’s co-author Charles StanishThe anthropology professor at the University of South Florida said in a statement.
Holes band
Monte Serpi’s mysterious holes are arranged in a long strip, divided into blocks of a few dozen holes. The total length of the range is 0.9 miles (1.5 km). Each hole is between 3 to 6 feet (1 and 2 m) wide and up to 3 feet (1 m) deep, and some are lined with rock. The site is located near a defensive settlement and crossroads that predated Spanish colonization in the 16th century.
Archaeologists first recorded the site in the 1930s and then surveyed it in the 1970s, but little work has been done on it since then, Stanish said. He explained, “The site is isolated and not threatened by development.” “As a result, there was no sense of urgency.”
Researchers have put forward a number of different ideas over the years to explain the huge number of holes.
“Hypotheses regarding the purpose of Monte Serpi range from defence, storage and accounting to water collection, fog capture and gardening,” said study co-author Jacob BongersThe archaeologist at the University of Sydney in Australia said in a statement. “The function of the site is still unclear.”
In the new study published on Monday (November 10) in the journal AntiquityThe researchers collected aerial photographs of the site using drones. They also analyzed centuries-old plant remains in rocks and sediments from many of the holes.
The analysis found pollen from crops, including corn, inside the holes, suggesting that these plants had been placed in the holes. Corn pollen does not naturally travel far from the plant, so researchers suspected that humans, not natural processes, brought it to Monte Serpe. The team also found remains of sedge pollen; People in the Chincha Kingdom used papyrus to make baskets.
“These data support the hypothesis that during pre-Hispanic times, local groups periodically lined the holes with plant materials and deposited goods inside them, using baskets and/or woven bundles for transport,” Bongers said.
Barter markets were common in the Peruvian Andes during this period, especially along trade routes. Neighboring communities may have used Monte Serpe as one of these markets in the Chincha community, the researchers wrote in the study.
Drone images showed that the arrangement of holes at the site bore similarities to an Inca site khipus – record-keeping devices Made of knotted ropes. Researchers have previously found quipu alongside similar nets in Inca storage spaces, suggesting that both sites may have been used to count and sort various goods. Researchers have suggested that slight differences in the number of holes per block at Monte Serpe may reflect different levels of tribute from neighboring towns.
“This study contributes to an important Andean case study of how past societies modified past landscapes to bring people together and enhance interaction,” Bongers said. “Our findings expand our understanding of barter markets and the origins and diversity of indigenous accounting practices within and beyond the ancient Andes.”