In the Northern Peruvian Andes, an ancient ceremonial megalith dating back 4,750 years ago has been discovered. The circular stone plaza is cited as one of the oldest megalithic architecture examples in the region.

The plaza was uncovered at an archaeological site known as Callacpuma, which is located in the Cajamarca Basin. Research and excavations have been conducted at the site for the past six decades.

After the site was subjected to radiocarbon dating, archaeologists found that it had been built between 2632 and 2884 B.C.E. This means that the plaza is older than the great pyramids of Giza in Egypt by a century, placing its construction around the same time as England’s Stonehenge.

The researchers in charge of the project were two anthropology professors from the University of Wyoming named Jason Toohey and Melissa Murphy. They published their findings in the journal Scientific Advances.

“This is a time period that we know little about in the Cajamarca region,” Toohey said. “I am very interested in why people from a small-scale, relatively mobile society would go to the trouble and labor to construct such a monument.”

The plaza measures 60 feet across and is made up of large stones arranged vertically next to each other. It also had two entryways and a few interior rooms and was surrounded by a low wall.

Until now, such a structure had never before been seen in the Andes. It was created in a similar fashion to other famous megaliths found around the world, such as Stonehenge and Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.

Due to the layout and the artifacts that were dug up in the area, archaeologists believe that the Andean megalith functioned as a ritual space.

Access to the inside of the plaza could be blocked by positioning a large megalith in front of it, which may have prevented people from seeing the activities that were taking place.

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“It was probably a gathering place and ceremonial location for some of the earliest people living in this part of Cajamarca Valley,” Toohey said. “These people were living a primarily hunting-and-gathering lifestyle and probably had only recently begun growing crops and domesticating animals.”

Researchers unearthed several objects in the interior rooms of the megalith, including quartz crystals, a gemstone, ceramic and stone serving vessels, and pieces of anthracite that used to be a mirror.

At the time of the plaza’s creation, the Andes were experiencing a period of transition from foraging to food production. Those who built the plaza may have wanted to lay their claim to the land with a physical structure.

A monument of such size and complexity also required planning and teamwork among large groups of people.

So, the discovery represents an “early example of collective construction, place building, and social integration among people in the Andes,” according to the authors of the study.