around each of these pyramids contain evidence of elite living, including food remnants that would have been exclusive to elite lifestyles, such as sea lion bones. In the Upper Half of Caral, many of the residents were wealthy elites, whose lives likely were associated with religious and social activities that would have taken place in the temples. By comparison, the residential buildings in the Lower Half have less evidence of elite populations. Instead of the large structures, exclusively elite residential complexes of the Upper Half, these residences are smaller and single rooms are used for more than one purpose. The diets of the people living in the Lower Half of Caral consisted mostly of agricultural plants and some fish. These diets were less rich than those of the elites living in the Upper Half. The current explanation for the divided city is that the city was intentionally planned in this way, with the monumental architecture and complexes of the Upper Half designed both to house elites and to physically indicate their political power. Conversely, the Lower Half was designed to house laborers, with the river serving as the division between these groups. This sort of intentional city planning is evidence of structuralized inequality at Caral, which perpetuated existing social stratification. See also Batán Grande Reserved Zone Iperú List of oldest buildings in the Americas Periodization of pre-Columbian Peru Sican culture Tourism in Peru Túcume References Further reading Haas, J., and Creamer, W. (2006). "Crucible of Andean Civilization: The Peruvian Coast from 3000 to 1800 BC". Current Anthropology, 47(5), 745–775. https://doi.org/10.1086/506281. Ortloff, C. R., and Moseley, M. E. (2012). 2600–1800 BCE Caral: Environmental change at a Late Archaic period site in north central coast Perú. Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology, 32(2), 189–206. Sandweiss, D. H., Solís, R. S., Moseley, M. E., Keefer, D. K., & Ortloff, C. R. (2009). Environmental change and economic development in coastal Peru between 5,800 and 3,600 years ago. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(5), 1359-1363. Shady, R., (2003). Los Orígenes de la Civilización y la Formación del Estado en el Perú: Las Evidencias Arqueológicas de Caral-Supe. In: Shady, R., Leyva, C. (Eds.), 'La Ciudad Sagrada de Caral-Supe. Los Orígenes de la Civilización Andina y la Formación del Estado Prístino en el Antiguo Perú. Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Lima, Peru. Shady, R. (2007). The Social and Cultural Values of Caral-Supe, the Oldest Civilization in