On the central coast of Peru, a group of archaeologists have found a roughly 4,000-year-old temple complex that may have the oldest "Chakana" (Andean cross) in all of South America carved into one of its friezes.

This U-shaped ceremonial structure, which is a component of the Miraflores archaeological site in the coastal province of Huaral, is situated 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Lima in the lower Chancay River Valley.

The temple compound, which spans approximately 70 hectares (170 acres) and is made up of a pyramidal building and two elongated mounds that form a sizable ceremonial plaza in its middle, is now buried beneath masses of rocks and is surrounded by farmland.

The temple was most likely one of the largest, "if not the largest," of Peru's central coast and was most likely constructed during the Formative Period of pre-Columbian Peru (also known as the Initial Period and lasting from roughly 1,800 BCE to 900 BCE). The team of archaeologists was led by Dr. Pieter Van Dalen Luna of the National University of San Marcos.

According to Van Dalen, "We've found walls, corridors, staircases... elements of worship, artifacts used in funerary rituals, and very early style ceramics."

Most astonishingly, however, the team of archaeologists uncovered an enclosure in the upper and rear area of the main pyramid while working on excavations on a three-meter-high (10-foot-high) stone and adobe wall a few weeks ago.

Among its contents, they discovered a "geometrically shaped frieze (with a carving of an Andean Cross, which would be the oldest example of a complete Chakana found in the Andes," according to Van Dalen.

In both Incan and pre-Incan Andean societies, the Chakana is a repeating sign that has the appearance of a square, stepped, 12-cornered cross with a circular center.

The frieze has only been partially excavated by Miraflores archaeologists so far, but they anticipate finishing the cross. If true, it would be the oldest artifact ever discovered in Peru and the entire Andes.

Additionally, it's the first time a Chakana has been discovered at an archaeological site on Peru's central coast, demonstrating the reverence this sacred object received not only in southern Peru but also throughout the Andes, according to Van Dalen.

According to experts, this temple was used throughout the Formative Period as a ceremonial center for the worship of water. As a result, its structure was oriented toward the Chancay River's source and away from the Pacific Ocean's waters.

Invoking water and rain for agricultural output, individuals engaged in a number of religious acts at specific periods of the year, according to Van Dalen.

"The whole population" took part in the rites, contributing their "excess output for the sustenance of the priestly class" that ruled the valley and lived in various areas of the temple.

This religious complex was later abandoned and forgotten due to "social processes possibly driven by climate change or other factors," yet it was occassionally used by other pre-Inca societies, such as the Chancay of the Late Intermediate period (1000 CE - 1476 CE).

The Andean cross was preserved by the Chancay and other later pre-Columbian tribes in Peru, and it is being used as a symbol today.