HUACA PRIETA

also called Chicama, pre-Columbian site of the Late Preceramic Period (c. 35001800 BC) in northern Peru, located at the mouth of the Chicama River. Archaeological excavations have revealed subterranean pit dwellings there. The inhabitants of these dwellings did not cultivate maize (corn) or make pottery but did grow squash, chilies, and cotton, caught fish, and wove baskets and coarse cloth. By the radiocarbon method this culture has been dated to about 2500 BC.