LIMA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A 4,000-year-old cave painting has been discovered in a northern temple in Peru, an archaeologist said Sunday.

    The painting depicting a deer caught in nets marks the beginning of high culture in South America and suggests that there were earlier hunting cultures, said Walter Alvahe, the director of Sipan Royal Tombs Museum, who lead the excavation work.

    The painting was found on the wall of a temple close to the Lord of Sipian tomb, on a hill in the Ventarron area of Chiclayo, the capital of Lambayque province, 780 km from Peru's capital Lima.

    Alva said the temple was built with mud bricks made from sediment in local rivers, instead of rocks.

    Using carbon-14 dating techniques, researchers calculate the earthen brick wall of the temple dates back to 2,600 B.C.

    However, the temple site has been damaged due to the extraction of materials used to make adobe buildings by local residents, Alva added.