'A truly unprecedented discovery': 3,000-year-old multicolored mural with fish, stars and gods discovered in Peru [View all]

By Kristina Killgrove
published August 28, 2025

A multicolored mural discovered in Peru is shedding light on pre-Inca coastal artistic traditions.



an archaeological dig revealing a large 3D mural with a backdrop of the Andes mountains

A view of the south face of the pre-Inca mural discovered at Huaca Yolanda in Peru. (Image credit: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú)

Archaeologists have uncovered a massive 3D mural on the northwest coast of Peru. Blue, yellow, red and black paints still adorn the 3,000-year-old mural, which is decorated with fish, stars and mythological beings.

"The imagery, decorative techniques and exceptional state of preservation make this a truly unprecedented discovery in the region," Cecilia Mauricio, an archaeologist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru who found the mural, told Live Science in an email.

Mauricio and her team began digging at the archaeological site of Huaca Yolanda in early July. During the first week of excavation, they uncovered the mural, which dates to the Formative Period (2000 to 1000 B.C.), so called because the first complex societies arose in what is now Peru at this time. The mural is nearly 20 feet (6 meters) long and 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall.

The south face of the mural depicts a large bird with outstretched wings and a diamond motif on its head, Mauricio said, possibly representing an eagle or a falcon. On the north face, there are plants, stars and human-like figures that "seem to represent shamans," who were powerful people in that time period, Mauricio said.

"Current evidence suggests that the mural decorated interior spaces within the main atrium of a Formative Period temple," Mauricio said.

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More:
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/a-truly-unprecedented-discovery-3-000-year-old-multicolored-mural-with-fish-stars-and-gods-discovered-in-peru