Ancón is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of northern

Lima Province Lima Province is located in the central coast of Peru and is the only province in the country not belonging to any of the twenty-five regions. Its capital is Lima, which is also the nation's capital. Despite its small area, this province is the ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It is the popular

beach resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

that is visited every summer by millions of people from

. Is the largest district of the

. Officially established as a district on October 29, 1874, segregating itself from the

Carabayllo district Carabayllo ()is one of the 43 districts of the province Lima in Peru. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province and was created district by General José de San Martín in August 4, 1821 at which time it was the only district to occup ...

. The current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

(''

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

'') of Ancón is John Barrera Bernui . The district's

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

is 2.

History

Ancón is an important site in Peruvian history and archaeology. This was a fishing town and as a burying ground for pre-

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

Indigenous civilizations of Ancon-Supe, which flourished about 4,000 years ago as one of the oldest societies in Peruvian history. In

Ancon (archaeological site) Ancon (archaeological site) is located in the north of the Bay of Ancon, in the Ancón District, on the central coast of Peru. It is one of the most important centers of the Peruvian archeology and features a vast necropolis of the pre-Hispanic ...

, the ridges of gravel and sandy soil were littered with

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

s, bones, and remnants of tattered handwoven cloth. Beneath the surface, grave robbers found

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

bodies with all the accompanying grave goods in shallow graves. In this region, the preservation of the bodies was due to the dry climate, and also reportedly, the

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...

and other preservative elements contained in the soil. In the late 1800s, archaeologists digging here found bodies, sometimes

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

ed, adorned with beads,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

earrings and bird feathers, and swathed in richly colored blankets or

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

cloth, with jars of provisions beside them. Tablets fashioned of cloth, stretched upon frames of wood and painted with figures and characters, described the virtues of the deceased. Pre-historic Ancón was a fishing village, so many handmade nets were found, along with baskets of woven fibre representing the industries of women. The extension of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in 1870 to

Chancay Chancay is a small city located north of Lima. Its population is 63,378. The Chancay culture was a pre-Columbian archaeological culture, later part of the Inca Empire. History It was founded in 1562 under the name of Villa de Arnedo. The ma ...

made the Necropolis of Ancón easily accessible to the day visitor. The geologists Reiss and Stubel conducted their excavations at Ancón during the period 1874-1875 because they feared the extent of digging there would quickly deplete the site. In 1884 Stolpe conducted excavations at Ancon on behalf of the Museum of Ethnography in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Modern buildings and old houses dating back to the 19th century can be found in the district's beach area. Ancón has a

yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mari ...

that exists since 1950. The

Treaty of Ancón The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru on 20 October 1883, in Ancón District, Ancón, near Lima. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the ...

, that ended the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, was signed on October 20, 1883, ceding

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Geography

The district has a total land

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

of . Its administrative center is located 3 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. ;Boundaries * North: Aucallama District (

Huaral Province The Huaral Province is one of the nine provinces in the Lima Region of Peru. It was created by Law No. 21488 on May 11, 1976 by president Francisco Morales Bermúdez out of eight districts of the Canta Province and four of the Huaura Province. Geo ...

) * East:

Huamantanga District Huamantanga (from Quechua Waman Tanka, meaning "falcon bifurcation") is one of seven districts of the Canta Province in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbo ...

(

Canta Province Canta Province is a province in the Lima Region of Peru, situated approximately to the northeast of the Peruvian capital, Lima. Geography One of the highest peaks of the province is Chunta at . Other mountains are listed below:escale.minedu.g ...

Carabayllo District Carabayllo ()is one of the 43 districts of the province Lima in Peru. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province and was created district by General José de San Martín in August 4, 1821 at which time it was the only district to occup ...

* South:

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

and Puente Piedra, as well as Ventanilla in the

Constitutional Province of Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

* West:

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Political division

The district is divided into 2 populated centers ( es, Centros Poblados): * Ancón * Piedras Gordas

Demographics

According to the 2005 census by the INEI, the district has 29,419 inhabitants, a population density of 98.3 persons/km² and 12,990 households. It is the second largest district and the 40th most populous district in Lima.

Beach resort

Ancón used to be a deluxe upscale beach resort during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its sandy soil and dry atmosphere made it a welcome place for persons with pulmonary and bronchial affections. Besides the beach, in 1913, there was a tennis court, one or two hotels, and many cottages. The train trip from Desamparados station in downtown

took about an hour and a half through dry desert. After the population crisis in the city, especially in the north of Lima, close to the old exclusive spas. Some wealthy families started to find for a best place for settle down in summer. And today, the beach remains popular despite the fact that most of the upscale housing has moved to the beaches south of Lima, such as Santa María del Mar,

Punta Hermosa Punta Hermosa is one of 43 districts of the Lima Province in Peru. The capital of the district is the village of Punta Hermosa. The district's main attractions are its beaches. Geography Punta Hermosa borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Lu ...

, Punta Negra,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, among others. Image:The harbour at Ancon Peru. Pelicans gather hopefully as the fish catch is gutted.jpg, Ancon, Peru,

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

s gather hopefully at the harbour as the catch is landed.. Image:Ancon2.jpg, Ancon, Peru. Fisherfolk gutting the catch. File:US Navy 100705-N-5319A-219 Members of the Peruvian Marine Drill Team perform at the opening ceremonies of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2010 at Ancon Marine Base, Peru.jpg, Members of the Peruvian Marine Drill Team Ancon Marine Base

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancon District Districts of Lima States and territories established in 1874 1874 establishments in Peru