The earliest traces of human presence in this country date back to around 12.500 BC in the settlement of Huaca Prieta on the Pacific Ocean. The country has one of the longest histories of civilization, starting with the Norte Chico civilization, which flourished in 3500 BC, the oldest civilization in the Americas and one of the five cradles of civilization after the Inca Empire - the largest state in the pre-Columbian Americas. In the pre-Columbian period, several other significant civilizations developed there: the Chavin culture (1200-600 BC), Nazca - in the south of the country, Mochica - in the north, Chimu and Aymara.
