Archaeology at Buena Vista was supported by a University of Missouri Research Board grant to Robert Benfer, and by MU Summer Archaeology Field Schools in 2003 and 2004. The Principal Investigator is Bob Benfer. Field crews were directed by Neil Duncan and Bernardino Ojeda.

Buena Vista is located approximately 40 km inland from the Pacific Ocean in the Chillon Valley just north of Lima, Peru. The site was known as “Los Frisos.” The Frisos are, in fact, geometric niches found at the site that are unique in the area.

Archaeologist Frederic Engel identified the site as Preceramic, dating to the time period in Peru before ceramics came into use, and a single radiocarbon date from grass fibers used in the plaster on one of the walls yielded a date of around 3713 BP. However, later surveys of the area identified the site as Late Intermediate period. The site has at least two distinct architectural styles that may have led to the misidentification of the Preceramic component and there are late ceramics on the surface of the site. However, the later architectural components differ significantly in spatial orientation and construction. Unworked-stone walls lacking plaster or mortar predominate in the later area. The older component consists of multiple rooms in adjoining structures of plastered stone walls. In this area we located the main ceremonial feature of the site.

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