Archaeologists have long thought that monumental architecture—large, human-built structures that emphasize visibility—were products of societies with power structures, including social hierarchy, inequality and controlled labor forces. But this notion is being questioned as researchers uncover evidence that hunter-gatherer groups also built such structures.

Research article (open access)

Snippet: Archaeologists have long thought that monumental architecture—large, human-built structures that emphasize visibility—were products of societies with power structures, including social hierarchy, inequality and controlled labor forces. But this notion is being questioned as researchers uncover evidence that hunter-gatherer groups also built such structures.

In new research published June 24 in the journal Antiquity, University of California researchers report evidence of monumental structures built by hunter-gatherer groupsat Kaillachuro, a collection of burial mounds located in the Titicaca Basin of the Peruvian Andes. The discovery places monumental architecture in the region 1,500 years earlier than previously thought, researchers said.