1.
Stew
–
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables or meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the liquid, wine, stock. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added, stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavors to mingle. Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat become tender. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking, cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry. Stews may be thickened by reduction or with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used. Stews are similar to soups, and in some there may not be a clear distinction between the two. Generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker, while soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients. Stews have been made since ancient times, herodotus says that the Scythians put the flesh into an animals paunch, mix water with it, and boil it like that over the bone fire. The bones burn very well, and the paunch easily contains all the meat once it has been stripped off, in this way an ox, or any other sacrificial beast, is ingeniously made to boil itself. Amazonian tribes used the shells of turtles as vessels, boiling the entrails of the turtle, other cultures used the shells of large mollusks to boil foods in. There is archaeological evidence of these practices going back 8,000 years or more, there are recipes for lamb stews and fish stews in the Roman cookery book Apicius, believed to date from the 4th century AD. Le Viandier, one of the oldest cookbooks in French, written in the early 14th century by the French chef known as Taillevent, has ragouts or stews of various types in it, the first written reference to Irish stew is in Byrons The Devils Drive, The Devil. A rebel or so in an Irish stew, stew is traditionally known as an English dish and has been a household favorite for centuries. In meat-based stews, white stews, also known as blanquettes or fricassées, are made with lamb or veal that is blanched, or lightly seared without browning, and cooked in stock. Brown stews are made with pieces of red meat that are first seared or browned, before a browned mirepoix and sometimes browned flour, stock and wine are added
2.
Potato
–
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. The word potato may refer either to the plant itself or to the edible tuber, in the Andes, where the species is indigenous, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced to Europe in the half of the 16th century by the Spanish. It is the worlds fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, the green leaves and green skins of tubers exposed to the light are toxic. Wild potato species can be throughout the Americas from the United States to southern Chile. Following centuries of breeding, there are now over a thousand different types of potatoes. However, the importance of the potato is variable and changing rapidly. As of 2007 China led the world in production, and nearly a third of the worlds potatoes were harvested in China. The English word potato comes from Spanish patata, the Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taíno batata and the Quechua papa. The 16th-century English herbalist John Gerard used the terms bastard potatoes and Virginia potatoes for this species, potatoes are occasionally referred to as Irish potatoes or white potatoes in the United States, to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. The name spud for a small potato comes from the digging of soil prior to the planting of potatoes, the word spud traces back to the 16th century. It subsequently transferred over to a variety of digging tools, around 1845, the name transferred to the tuber itself. It was Mario Peis 1949 The Story of Language that can be blamed for the false origin. Pei writes, the potato, for its part, was in disrepute some centuries ago, some Englishmen who did not fancy potatoes formed a Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diet. The initials of the words in this title gave rise to spud. Like most other pre-20th century acronymic origins, this is false, Potato plants are herbaceous perennials that grow about 60 cm high, depending on variety, with the leaves dying back after flowering, fruiting and tuber formation. They bear white, pink, red, blue, or purple flowers with yellow stamens, in general, the tubers of varieties with white flowers have white skins, while those of varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Potatoes are mostly cross-pollinated by insects such as bumblebees, which carry pollen from other potato plants, tubers form in response to decreasing day length, although this tendency has been minimized in commercial varieties
3.
Meat
–
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times, the advent of civilization allowed the domestication of animals such as chickens, sheep, pigs and cattle. This eventually led to their use in production on an industrial scale with the aid of slaughterhouses. Meat is mainly composed of water, protein, and fat and it is edible raw, but is normally eaten after it has been cooked and seasoned or processed in a variety of ways. Unprocessed meat will spoil or rot within hours or days as a result of infection with and decomposition by bacteria, most often, meat refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as offal. The word meat comes from the Old English word mete, which referred to food in general, the term is related to mad in Danish, mat in Swedish and Norwegian, and matur in Icelandic and Faroese, which also mean food. The word mete also exists in Old Frisian to denote important food, differentiating it from swiets, paleontological evidence suggests that meat constituted a substantial proportion of the diet of even the earliest humans. Early hunter-gatherers depended on the hunting of large animals such as bison. Several breeds of sheep were established in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt by 3500–3000 BC, today, more than 200 sheep-breeds exist. Cattle were domesticated in Mesopotamia after settled agriculture was established about 5000 BC, modern domesticated cattle fall into the groups Bos taurus and Bos indicus, both descended from the now-extinct aurochs. The breeding of cattle, cattle optimized for meat production as opposed to animals best suited for draught or dairy purposes. Domestic pigs, which are descended from boars, are known to have existed about 2500 BC in modern-day Hungary and in Troy, earlier pottery from Jericho. Pork sausages and hams were of commercial importance in Greco-Roman times. Pigs continue to be bred intensively as they are being optimized to produce meat best suited for meat products. Other animals are or have raised or hunted for their flesh. The type of meat consumed varies much between different cultures, changes over time, depending on such as tradition and the availability of the animals. The amount and kind of meat consumed also varies by income, horses are commonly eaten in France, Italy, Germany and Japan, among other countries. Horses and other mammals such as reindeer were hunted during the late Paleolithic in western Europe
4.
Beef
–
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle, particularly skeletal muscle. Humans have been eating beef since prehistoric times, Beef is a complete source of protein, and provides many of the essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that humans need. Beef skeletal muscle meat can be cut into roasts, short ribs or steak, Some cuts are processed, and trimmings, usually mixed with meat from older, leaner cattle, are ground, minced or used in sausages. The blood is used in varieties of blood sausage. Some intestines are cooked and eaten as-is, but are often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The bones are used for making beef stock, Beef from steers and heifers is very similar. According to the most recent National Beef Quality Audit, heifer carcasses had slightly more marbling than steer carcasses, depending on economics, the number of heifers kept for breeding varies. The meat from older bulls is usually tougher, so it is used for mince. Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively. According to the data from OECD, the average Uruguayan ate over 42 kg of beef or veal in 2014, cattle are considered sacred in the culture of India and there is prohibition on selling and consumption of beef in much of India. Though India is the largest producer and exporter of meat in the world. In 2015, the worlds largest exporters of beef including the meat, were India, Brazil. Beef production is important to the economies of Uruguay, Canada, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Belarus. The word beef is from the Latin bōs, in contrast to cow which is from Middle English cou, after the Norman Conquest, the French-speaking nobles who ruled England naturally used French words to refer to the meats they were served. Thus, various Anglo-Saxon words were used for the animal by the peasants, Beef is cognate with bovine through the Late Latin bovīnus. People have eaten the flesh of bovines from prehistoric times, some of the earliest known paintings, such as those of Lascaux. People domesticated cattle around 8000 BC to provide access to beef, milk. Most cattle originated in the Old World, with the exception of bison hybrids, examples include the Wagyū from Japan, Ankole-Watusi from Egypt, and longhorn Zebu from the Indian subcontinent
5.
Jerky
–
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word jerky is derived from the Quechua word charki which means dried, salted meat, all that is needed to produce basic jerky is a low-temperature drying method, and salt to inhibit bacterial growth. Modern manufactured jerky is normally marinated in a spice rub or liquid. Some product manufacturers finely grind meat, mix in seasonings, the resulting jerky from the above methods would be a salty and/or savory snack. However, often a sweet or semi-sweet recipe is used, with sugar being a major ingredient, Jerky is ready-to-eat and needs no additional preparation. It can be stored for months without refrigeration, when the protein to moisture content ratio is correct, the resulting meat is cured, or preserved. There are many products in the marketplace which are sold as jerky which consist of highly processed, chopped and formed meat, rather than traditional sliced, whole-muscle meat. These products may contain more fat, but moisture content, like the whole-muscle product, chemical preservatives can be used to prevent oxidative spoilage, but the moisture to protein ratio prevents microbial spoilage by low water activity. Many jerky products are high in sugar and are therefore very sweet, unlike biltong. A typical 30 g portion of fresh jerky contains 10–15 g of protein,1 g of fat, since traditional jerky recipes use a basic salt cure, sodium can be a concern for some people. A30 g serving of jerky could contain more than 600 mg of sodium, any particular preparation or recipe for jerky typically uses only one type of meat. Around the world, meat from domestic and wild animals is used to make jerky, meats from domestic animals include beef, pork, goat and mutton or lamb. Wild animals including deer, kudu, springbok, kangaroo, recently, other animals such as turkey, ostrich, salmon, alligator, crocodile, tuna, emu, horse, camel, and earthworm. Most of the fat must be trimmed off prior to drying the meat, as fat does not dry, the meat must be dried quickly, to limit bacterial growth during the critical period where the meat is not yet dry. To do this, the meat is sliced, or pressed thinly. The strips of meat are dried at low temperatures, to cooking it. In factories in the 2010s, large ovens are built using insulated panels
6.
Chorizo
–
Chorizo or chouriço is a type of pork sausage. Traditionally, it uses natural casings made from intestines, a method used since Roman times, in Europe Chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked sausage, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or added as an ingredient to add flavor to other dishes. Elsewhere some sausages sold as Chorizo may not be fermented and cured, in Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chouriço get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried smoked red peppers. Spanish-American cuisine adds vinegar instead of the wine usually used in Spain. Chorizo can be sliced in a sandwich, grilled, fried, or simmered in liquid. It also can be used as a replacement for ground beef or pork. Several different names and spellings are used, Asturian, chorizu Basque, txorizo Catalan, xoriço Galician, chourizo Portuguese, chouriço Spanish and it was formerly thought to derive from the Latin salsicium, meaning salted. In English, chorizo is usually pronounced /tʃəˈriːzoʊ, -soʊ/, non-English pronunciations are sometimes heard, including /tʃəˈriːθoʊ/, mimicking Castilian Spanish pronunciation. Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with pimentón – a smoked paprika – and it is generally classed as either picante or dulce, depending upon the type of pimentón used. Hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, may contain garlic, herbs, and other ingredients, for example, Chorizo de Pamplona is a thicker sausage with the meat more finely ground. Among the varieties is chorizo Riojano from the La Rioja region, a rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweet, and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case. Spain produces many other specialties as well, such as lomo embuchado or salchichón. Lomo is a lean, cured meat to slice, made from the loin of the pig, salchichón is another cured sausage without the pimentón seasoning of chorizo, but flavoured with black peppercorns instead. The version of these dishes con todos los sacramentos adds to chorizo other preserved meats such as tocino, Portuguese chouriço is made with pork, fat, wine, paprika, garlic, and salt. It is then stuffed into natural or artificial casings and slowly dried over smoke, the many different varieties differ in color, shape, seasoning, and taste. Many dishes of Portuguese cuisine and Brazilian cuisine make use of chouriço – cozido à portuguesa, a popular way to prepare chouriço is partially sliced and flame-cooked over alcohol at the table. Special glazed earthenware dishes with a lattice top are used for this purpose, in the heavily Portuguese counties in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, chouriço is often served with little neck clams and white beans. Chouriço sandwiches on grinder rolls, with sautéed green peppers and onions, are available at local delis
7.
Vegetable
–
In everyday usage, a vegetable is any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a meal. The term vegetable is somewhat arbitrary, and largely defined through culinary and it normally excludes other food derived from plants such as fruits, nuts, and cereal grains, but includes seeds such as pulses. The original meaning of the vegetable, still used in biology, was to describe all types of plant, as in the terms vegetable kingdom. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries, the scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing. Vegetables can be either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, the word vegetable was first recorded in English in the early 15th century. It comes from Old French, and was applied to all plants. It derives from Medieval Latin vegetabilis growing, flourishing, a change from a Late Latin meaning to be enlivening, quickening. The meaning of vegetable as a plant grown for food was not established until the 18th century, in 1767, the word was specifically used to mean a plant cultivated for food, an edible herb or root. The year 1955 saw the first use of the shortened, slang term veggie, the broadest definition is the words use adjectivally to mean matter of plant origin to distinguish it from animal, meaning matter of animal origin. More specifically, a vegetable may be defined as any plant, part of which is used for food, a secondary meaning then being the edible part of such a plant. A more precise definition is any plant part consumed for food that is not a fruit or seed, falling outside these definitions are edible fungi and edible seaweed which, although not parts of plants, are often treated as vegetables. In everyday language, the fruit and vegetable are mutually exclusive. Fruit has a precise meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary of a flowering plant. This is considerably different from the words culinary meaning, while peaches, plums, and oranges are fruit in both senses, many items commonly called vegetables, such as eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, are botanically fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893
8.
Andes
–
The Andes or Andean Mountains are the longest continental mountain range in the world. They are a range of highlands along the western edge of South America. This range is about 7,000 km long, about 200 to 700 km wide, the Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Along their length, the Andes are split into several ranges, the Andes are the location of several high plateaus – some of which host major cities, such as Quito, Bogotá, Arequipa, Medellín, Sucre, Mérida and La Paz. The Altiplano plateau is the worlds second-highest after the Tibetan plateau and these ranges are in turn grouped into three major divisions based on climate, the Tropical Andes, the Dry Andes, and the Wet Andes. The Andes are the worlds highest mountain range outside of Asia, the highest mountain outside Asia, Mount Aconcagua, rises to an elevation of about 6,961 m above sea level. The peak of Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is farther from the Earths center than any other location on the Earths surface, the worlds highest volcanoes are in the Andes, including Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border, which rises to 6,893 m. The etymology of the word Andes has been debated, the majority consensus is that it derives from the Quechua word anti, which means east as in Antisuyu, one of the four regions of the Inca Empire. In the northern part of the Andes, the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range is considered to be part of the Andes. The term cordillera comes from the Spanish word cordel, meaning rope, the Andes range is about 200 km wide throughout its length, except in the Bolivian flexure where it is about 640 kilometres wide. The Andes are the result of plate tectonics processes, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the South American plate. The main cause of the rise of the Andes is the compression of the rim of the South American Plate due to the subduction of the Nazca Plate. In the south, the Andes share a boundary with the former Patagonia Terrane. To the west, the Andes end at the Pacific Ocean, from a geographical approach, the Andes are considered to have their western boundaries marked by the appearance of coastal lowlands and a less rugged topography. The Andes Mountains also contain large quantities of iron ore located in mountains within the range. The Andean orogen has a series of bends or oroclines, the Bolivian Orocline is a seaward concave bending in the coast of South America and the Andes Mountains at about 18° S. At this point the orientation of the Andes turns from Northwest in Peru to South in Chile, the Andean segment north and south of the orocline have been rotated 15° to 20° counter clockwise and clockwise respectively. The Bolivian Orocline area overlaps with the area of maximum width of the Altiplano Plateau, the specific point at 18° S where the coastline bends is known as the Arica Elbow
9.
Argentina
–
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
10.
Bolivia
–
Bolivia, officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru. One-third of the country is the Andean mountain range, with one of its largest cities and principal economic centers, El Alto, Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries that lie outside Afro-Eurasia. Bolivia is geographically the largest landlocked country in the Americas, but remains a small country in economic. Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was administered by the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, spain built its empire in great part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivias mines. After the first call for independence in 1809,16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Since independence, Bolivia has endured periods of political and economic instability, including the loss of peripheral territories to its neighbors, such as Acre. The countrys population, estimated at 11 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, the racial and social segregation that arose from Spanish colonialism has continued to the modern era. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guarani, Aymara, modern Bolivia is constitutionally a unitary state, divided into nine departments. Its geography varies from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands and it is a developing country, with a medium ranking in the Human Development Index and a poverty level of 53 percent. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing such as textiles, clothing, refined metals. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin, Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar, a leader in the Spanish American wars of independence. Sucre opted to create a new nation and, with local support. The original name was Republic of Bolívar, some days later, congressman Manuel Martín Cruz proposed, If from Romulus comes Rome, then from Bolívar comes Bolivia. The name was approved by the Republic on 3 October 1825, the region now known as Bolivia had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived. However, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of the Tiwanaku culture which had its capital at Tiwanaku, the capital city of Tiwanaku dates from as early as 1500 BC when it was a small, agriculturally based village. The community grew to urban proportions between AD600 and AD800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes
11.
Peru
–
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures spanning from the Norte Chico civilization in Caral, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty with its capital in Lima, ideas of political autonomy later spread throughout Spanish America and Peru gained its independence, which was formally proclaimed in 1821. After the battle of Ayacucho, three years after proclamation, Peru ensured its independence, subsequently, the country has undergone changes in government from oligarchic to democratic systems. Peru has gone through periods of political unrest and internal conflict as well as periods of stability, Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. It is a country with a high Human Development Index score. Its main economic activities include mining, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing, the Peruvian population, estimated at 31.2 million in 2015, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages and this mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music. The name of the country may be derived from Birú, the name of a ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama. When his possessions were visited by Spanish explorers in 1522, they were the southernmost part of the New World yet known to Europeans, thus, when Francisco Pizarro explored the regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Perú. An alternative history is provided by the contemporary writer Inca Garcilasco de la Vega, son of an Inca princess, the Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of Peru. Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of Peru, the earliest evidences of human presence in Peruvian territory have been dated to approximately 9,000 BC. Andean societies were based on agriculture, using such as irrigation and terracing, camelid husbandry. Organization relied on reciprocity and redistribution because these societies had no notion of market or money, the oldest known complex society in Peru, the Norte Chico civilization, flourished along the coast of the Pacific Ocean between 3,000 and 1,800 BC. These early developments were followed by archaeological cultures that developed mostly around the coastal, the Cupisnique culture which flourished from around 1000 to 200 BC along what is now Perus Pacific Coast was an example of early pre-Incan culture. The Chavín culture that developed from 1500 to 300 BC was probably more of a religious than a political phenomenon, on the coast, these included the civilizations of the Paracas, Nazca, Wari, and the more outstanding Chimu and Mochica. Their capital was at Chan Chan outside of modern-day Trujillo, in the 15th century, the Incas emerged as a powerful state which, in the span of a century, formed the largest empire in pre-Columbian America with their capital in Cusco
