Huaca Prieta is the site of a prehistoric settlement beside the Pacific Ocean in the Chicama Valley, just north of Trujillo, La Libertad Province, Peru.

The remains, now at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, include many examples of complex textiles made with twining techniques which incorporated intricate designs of mythological humans, condors, snakes and crabs.

The inhabitants fished, gathered shellfish, and grew fruit, gourds, squash, peppers, beans, tubers and, importantly, cotton.

[6] It is likely that those early occupants engaged primarily in simple food gathering along the shoreline, as well as in trapping and clubbing abundant local species of animals.

This cultural complex, as well as the Siches area (in north Peru, close to the Ecuador border), share similar developments as Huaca Prieta.

The San Dieguito complex of Southern California, the Southwestern United States, and northwestern Mexico (as early as 10,200 BP) also featured predominantly unifaces.

Monte Verde II in southern Chile, dating 14,000 cal BP or earlier, is also predominantly unifacial.

In 2012, it was reported that corncobs found at two ancient sites in Peru (Paredones and Huaca Prieta) may date from as early as 4700 BCE.

"[5] This suggests that Huaca Prieta was an important hub in a large trading network reaching all the way to Mexico, where domesticated corn originated.

A team of scientists excavating Huaca Prieta between 2007 and 2013 also discovered evidence of the avocado dating back perhaps 15,000 years.