The amphitheater served as the ceremonial heart of a thriving city 4,600 years ago. First City in the New World? Peru's Caral suggests civilization emerged in the Americas 1,000 years earlier than experts believed Why Did They Leave the Coast? Fishermen today ply Peru’s coast in bull-rush boats as they have for thousands of years, harvesting the rich marine life sustained by the cold Humboldt Current. Leaving this food-rich environment and establishing the urban center of Caral deep in the desert became possible only through large-scale irrigation, enabling farmers to grow squash plants, sweet potatoes and beans. For protein, the...