The pits on the hill likely served as an equivalent of trading stalls, only on a larger, strategic scale.
Researchers from the University of Sydney believe they have managed to "crack" the code of Monte Sierpe, also known as "Snake Mountain," on the outskirts of the Pisco Valley in southern Peru.
At the top of this winding hill, there are 5,200 man-made pits arranged in a specific order. They are not suitable for collecting water or storing supplies, and the area is desert-like and arid, with no permanent settlements. This raises the question: why did ancient people do this?
Several factors provide clues to the mystery of Monte Sierpe. First, an Incan quipu, a primitive accounting tool made of rope with knots, was found in the valley, and the line of pits closely resembles it. Second, traces of plants, food, and plant fibers used to make baskets were found inside the pits. None of this grows nearby. Third, the hill is located at the crossroads of trade routes of the Chincha kingdom, which existed here before the arrival of the Incas.
The Chincha were renowned as skilled traders, from whom the Incas adopted systems for resource accounting and labor management. The pits on the hill likely served as an equivalent of trading stalls, only on a larger, strategic scale. Traders filled them with goods, like in a warehouse, and wholesale buyers could quickly calculate how much and what types of goods were in each section based on the number of filled pits. This significantly sped up and simplified large-scale transactions.
So far, this is just a hypothesis that has drawn considerable criticism. For example, why has nothing similar been found in other areas, given that the Chincha kingdom was quite large? Moreover, the Inca Empire did not construct anything like this – why?
Perhaps it was a kind of experiment or a standard for trade at that time, a place for resolving trade disputes. But the very fact that ancient people undertook such a titanic effort clearly indicates the importance of this site.
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