A mysterious stone object resembling an ancient Andean dice has been unearthed at a Chachapoya settlement in Peru, raising intriguing questions about games, rituals and everyday life among the people sometimes known as the “Warriors of the Clouds”.
The small sandstone artefact was discovered by archaeologists investigating the Ollape archaeological complex in Peru’s northern Amazonas region, an area once dominated by the Chachapoya culture.
Shaped like an elongated prism, the object has carefully worked surfaces marked by horizontal incisions. Researchers believe its unusual appearance resembles a type of Andean dice known from archaeological and historical sources as a pishca, or pichca.
Such objects have been associated with games and chance, and potentially with ritual practices. However, researchers have not yet established exactly how the newly discovered object was used.
Researchers from the Kuélap Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology Research at the National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza said the discovery could provide a glimpse into a poorly understood aspect of life among the pre-Hispanic societies of the Peruvian Amazon.
Was it an ancient dice?
The name pishca derives from the Quechua word pichqa, meaning “five”.
Objects identified as pishca or pichca have previously been connected with Andean games, fortune and ceremonial activities. The newly discovered artefact shares characteristics with these objects, although its precise function remains uncertain.
That uncertainty is part of what makes the discovery significant.
Archaeologists are now faced with questions about whether the object was used for entertainment, decision-making, ritual purposes or something else entirely — and what its presence at Ollape might reveal about Chachapoya society.
The artefact was found in Excavation Unit 05, outside one of the settlement’s structures.
It emerged as archaeologists removed a deposit containing straight-edged stones resembling architectural cornices. The stones had been piled together irregularly and showed no traces of mortar, suggesting they may have been deliberately deposited there sometime after their original use.
Understanding that archaeological context could eventually help researchers determine why the unusual object was there.
A glimpse into the world of the Chachapoya
Ollape lies in the upper Utcubamba River basin and forms part of the district of La Jalca.
The surrounding territory was occupied by the Chachapoya between approximately AD 800 and 1500, before the region came under Inca control.
Living among the mountains and cloud forests of northern Peru, the Chachapoya are frequently referred to as the “Warriors of the Clouds” and are known for their resistance to Inca expansion.
Their most famous monumental centre is Kuélap, but settlements scattered across the wider region are revealing an increasingly complex picture of Chachapoya society.
Ollape has already produced major archaeological discoveries
More than 200 circular structures associated with the Chachapoya were identified at the site last year. Among them was a building featuring two unusual carved stone heads that had once been incorporated into its architecture.
Now the discovery of the prism-shaped artefact is adding another, very different dimension to the archaeological record.
Rather than monumental walls or imposing architecture, the object potentially offers evidence of what people actually did — how they played, interacted, made decisions or performed ceremonies.
A tiny object with big questions
The discovery is especially valuable because artefacts associated with games and similar social practices can be difficult to identify archaeologically.
A small stone object might appear insignificant compared with the monumental architecture for which Chachapoya sites are famous, yet it could preserve evidence of behaviours rarely visible through buildings alone.
Researchers are therefore treating the identification cautiously while examining what the object and its archaeological context can reveal.
“Each recovered piece allows us to reconstruct fragments of their history and bring us closer to the experiences of those who lived in the Amazon hundreds of years ago,” the Kuélap Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology Research said.
For now, the sandstone object remains something of a puzzle.
But if further investigation confirms that it was indeed a pishca, the tiny artefact could provide an unusual window into a more personal side of life among the people who inhabited Peru’s cloud forests centuries before the arrival of the Spanish.