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Before 3000 B.C.E., most of the architecture in the Andean region was fairly simple, mainly consisting of houses and small buildings used for religious practices. Around 3000 B.C.E., however, the Andeans began building large-scale mounds in the highlands and coastal areas; these were public structures built for ceremonial use. The monumental mounds were very large, in fact, some of the largest monuments ever built in the Andes come from these early times. Some looked like hills; some had terracing (a series of horizontal ridges or stairs) ascending them; some looked like the pyramids of Egypt. They were often built to face a mountain; some are believed to have been made in the image of the mountains. Temple mounds were often built on top of an older building or temple. A community might first have a small temple. Then laborers would cover over the first building and build a temple on top of it. Rooms at the top of temple mounds were places for persons of higher status and used by the most important rulers or priests. Most of the pre-Ceramic temple mounds that have been found on the coast are rectangular, while those that were built in the highlands are more rounded or oval.

The construction of these huge temple mounds would have required hundreds of thousands of human hours of labor. For armies of men to have left the crops or hunting to spend months building a pyramid or monument required a surplus of food in the region to feed the laborers. The different skills involved in construction--from dragging heavy blocks of stone to organizing the laborers to designing and preparing the architectural plans--shows that a system of dividing skills and labor was in place. A ruler or government powerful enough to force or persuade the laborers to do this work and to reward the architects and planners for their efforts was also required. Pre-Ceramic settlements and centers with religious monuments have been found throughout the Andean region. Three examples are sites at Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley, Aspero in the Supe Valley, and El Paraiso in the Chillon Valley.

Many of the known pre-Ceramic centers like Aspero and El Paraiso were large, and archaeologists have found clear evidence that complex social institutions were present there. However, these centers are generally not considered cities. Many of the people in these places were not permanent residents, but rather travelers who went there to pay tribute (a gift, payment, or other acknowledgement of gratitude or respect) to the gods of worship. In addition, archaeologists have found little evidence that any business transactions went on in these centers, even in places where the population was more permanent. The primary purpose of the centers was to host religious ceremonies and public events rather than day-to-day business. Because the ceremonial centers showed no signs of city life, many archaeologists do not consider them to be the sources of early Andean civilization.

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