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Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered a strange burial site in a pre-Inca temple dedicated to a water cult dating back some 3,800 years. The discovery could “redefine” the understanding of South American history, they say.

Four individuals – two children, a teenager and an adult – were found buried at the site in a side position facing the mountains. Symbolic offerings such as stone pendants and snails were found in the burial.

Researchers had previously linked the temple site to a water cult that was over 3,000 years old.

The most recent excavation covered a small section of 51 square meters, or about one percent of the temple site, where archaeologists uncovered rock walls held together with mud plaster and pottery shards.

These walls had rounded corners, characteristic of the architecture of the Early Formative Period, which spanned about 1800 BC to 900 BC.

During this period, the ancient peoples of Peru began to build large ceramic structures, including early pyramids.

The recently excavated tombs predate Peru’s most famous archaeological site, Machu Picchu, which was built about 600 years ago and represents “a living testimony” to the ancient civilizations that inhabited the continent, researchers say.

“Early ceramic fragments found at the site are similar to those observed at other important settlements such as Gramalote in the Moche Valley and Huaca Negra near the coast in the Virú Valley,” said archaeologist Feren Castillo Luján.

There is evidence that people have lived in Peru for over 15,000 years, but it was not until around 5,000 to 3,000 BC that people on the coast of Peru began to build societies with political systems.

After that, from about 2000 BC, there are indications of the emergence of an institutionalized religion among humans.

It is still unclear what these ancient people called themselves and what their neighboring peoples called them.

Very little is currently known about the circumstances under which people’s complex belief systems emerged.

Scientists suspect that the positioning of the bodies facing the hills may provide some clues, as mountains have symbolic significance in Andean cosmology.

Since the mountains also serve as a source of water for irrigating the arid landscape, researchers suspect that the bodies were probably placed there out of respect for the element.

Archaeologists warned that the temple site was facing “serious dangers” due to increasing agricultural use around the area.

They appealed to local people to preserve the “invaluable cultural heritage” and to assume their collective responsibility by “studying, preserving and protecting these relics for future generations”.

“The tourism potential of the area is immense, but beyond that we must think about the importance of valuing and preserving our cultural identity,” said the archaeologist.

“Time is of the essence and action must be taken to preserve this site before it is too late,” he added.