Caral

I feel the warm sun on my sandy walls. The wind whispers soft songs as it blows through my valley. My buildings are the color of the sand, like little hills sleeping in the sun. Hello. I am Caral, one of the very first cities in all of the Americas. I have been here for a very, very long time, and I have a happy story to tell you.

A long, long time ago, around the year 3000 BCE, friendly people built me. They worked together, hand in hand. They carried stones and put them in special woven bags called shicras, like little baskets. They stacked them up, up, up to build my big pyramids that touched the sky. They also built special round places where everyone could gather. In my circles, they played music on flutes made from bird bones. The happy sounds filled the air. I loved to hear them sing songs together. I was a city full of music and friends.

After the people left, I fell asleep under the sand for many, many years. I was like a secret city, dreaming under a warm, sandy blanket. Then, one day in the year 1994, some very smart people called archaeologists gently brushed the sand away and found me. Hello again, world. Now, friends from all over come to visit me. They see my big pyramids and my round plazas and learn how people long ago built a happy city together. I am here to remind everyone that when we work together, we can make beautiful things that last forever.