Support Huaca Montegrande
Peru’s oldest temple, and the origin of cacao, are in crisis and need the support of the cacao community.
Ancient Cacao
Montegrande, a 14-year ongoing archaeological dig and anthropological study, is Peru’s oldest monumental temple and it holds the key to understanding human’s earliest spiritual connection to cacao. Containers have been found inside of the temple with cacao remnants that carbon date back 6,000 years, making it the oldest known origin of cacao on the planet today. This is older than the pyramids of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Despite its global significance, Montegrande is in immediate danger of being buried again. The project is out of funds and Peruvian law will require us to move into the process of reburying the temple that is 5-stories tall in the mid-December. We urgently need $50,000 to keep this project going. Without it, we risk losing everything we’ve uncovered and the opportunity to protect the oldest domesticated cacao in the world.
On the brink of significant discoveries
ASICAMPE’s archaeology team is on the threshold of uncovering the bottom of the temple, where the most ancient history lives. With six months left to complete this next stage, we urgently need global support to preserve this cultural heritage.
Rewriting History
This 14-year study is rewriting history, revealing an entire civilization previously unknown. The Marañon civilization, as we discovered, thrived as an advanced society 3,000 years before the Inca and Nazca cultures.
