1.
Peru
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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
2.
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. It was the first step in a campaign that took decades of fighting but ended in Spanish victory in 1572. The conquest of the Inca Empire led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia, when the Spanish arrived at the borders of the Inca Empire in 1528, it spanned a considerable area, by far the largest of the four grand pre-Columbian civilizations. In less than a century, the Inca had expanded their empire from about 400,000 km² in 1448, to 1,800,000 km² in 1528 and this vast area of land varied greatly in cultures and in climate. Because of the cultures and geography, the Inca allowed many areas of the empire to be governed under the control of local leaders. However, under the administrative mechanisms established by the Inca, all parts of the empire answered to, and were ultimately under the control of. Scholars estimate that the population of the Inca Empire numbered more than 16,000,000, in 1528, Emperor Huayna Capac ruled the Inca Empire. He could trace his lineage back to a king named Manco Cápac, the mythical founder of the Inca clan. On his accession to the throne, Huayna Capac had continued the policy of expansion by conquest, while he had to put down a number of rebellions during his reign, by the time of his death, his legitimacy was as unquestioned as was the primacy of Inca power. However, expansion had resulted in its own problems, many parts of the empire maintained distinctive cultures and these were at best resistive participants in the imperial project. Huayna Capac relied on his sons to support his reign, while he had many legitimate and illegitimate children, two sons are historically important. Prince Túpac Cusi Hualpa, also known as Huáscar, was the son of Coya Mama Rahua Occllo of the royal line and these two sons would play pivotal roles in the final years of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquistador Pizarro and his men were greatly aided in their enterprise by invading when the Inca Empire was in the midst of a war of succession between the princes Huáscar and Atahualpa. Atahualpa seems to have spent more time with Huayna Capac during the years when he was in the north with the army conquering Ecuador, Atahualpa was thus closer to, and had better relations with the army and its leading generals. Huayna had died before he could nominate the new heir, at the time of Huayna Capacs death, Huáscar was in the capital Cuzco, while Atahualpa was in Quitu with the main body of the Inca army. Huáscar had himself proclaimed Sapa Inca in Cuzco, but the army declared loyalty to Atahualpa, the resulting dispute led to the Inca Civil War. The civil war between Atahualpa and Huascar weakened the empire prior to its struggle with the Spanish. Atahualpa appeared to be popular with the people than his brother, and he was certainly more valued by the army
3.
Ollantaytambo
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Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 72 kilometres by road northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 metres above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, during the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, around the mid-15th century, the Inca emperor Pachacuti conquered and razed Ollantaytambo, the town and the nearby region were incorporated into his personal estate. After Pachacutis death, the estate came under the administration of his panaqa, during the Spanish conquest of Peru Ollantaytambo served as a temporary capital for Manco Inca, leader of the native resistance against the conquistadors. He fortified the town and its approaches in the direction of the former Inca capital of Cusco, in 1536, on the plain of Mascabamba, near Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca defeated a Spanish expedition, blocking their advance from a set of high terraces and flooding the plain. Despite his victory, however, Manco Inca did not consider his position tenable, so the year he withdrew to the heavily forested site of Vilcabamba. In 1540, the population of Ollantaytambo was assigned in encomienda to Hernando Pizarro. The town of Ollantaytambo is located along the Patakancha River, close to the point where it joins the Willkanuta River, the main settlement is located on the left margin of the Patakancha with a smaller compound called Araqhama on the right margin. The main Inca ceremonial center is located beyond Araqhama on a hill called Cerro Bandolista, there are several Inca structures on the surroundings, what follows is a brief description of the main sites. The main settlement at Ollantaytambo has a layout with four longitudinal streets crossed by seven parallel streets. At the center of grid, the Incas built a large plaza that may have been up to four blocks large, it was open to the east and surrounded by halls. All blocks on the half of the town were built to the same design. Buildings in the northern half are more varied in design, however, Ollantaytambo dates from the late 15th century and has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America. The plaza at the center of the town also disappeared as several buildings were built over it in colonial times. Araqhama is a prolongation of the main settlement, across the Patakancha River, it features a large plaza, called Manyaraki, surrounded by constructions made out of adobe. These buildings have a larger area than their counterparts in the main settlement, they also have very tall walls. To the south there are structures, but smaller and built out of fieldstones. Araqhama has been occupied since Inca times, as evidenced by the Roman Catholic church on the eastern side of the plaza
4.
Choquequirao
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Choquequirao, Chuqi Kiraw or Chuqikiraw is an Incan site in south Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terraces at levels above and below Sunchu Pata, the hilltop was anciently leveled and ringed with stones to create a 30 by 50 m platform. Choquequirao at an elevation of 3,050 metres ) is in the spurs of the Vilcabamba mountain range in the Santa Teresa district, the complex is 1,800 hectares, of which 30–40% is excavated. The site overlooks the Apurimac River canyon which has an elevation of 1,450 metres, the site is reached by a two-day hike from outside Cusco. Choquequirao has topped in the prestigious Lonely Planets Best in Travel 2017 Top Regions list, Choquequirao is a 15th and 16th century settlement associated with the Incan Empire, or more correctly Tahuantinsuyo. The site had two major growth stages and this could be explained if Pachacuti founded Choquequirao and his son, Tupac Inca Yupanqui, remodeled and extended it after becoming the Sapa Inca. Choquequirao is located in the considered to be Pachacuti’s estate. Other sites in this area are Sayhuite, Machu Picchu, Chachabamba, Choquesuysuy and Guamanmarca, the architectural style of several important features appears to be of Chachapoya design, suggesting that Chachapoya workers were probably involved in the construction. This suggests that Tupaq Inka probably ordered the construction, colonial documents also suggest that Tupac Inca ruled Choquequirao since his great grandson, Tupa Sayri, claimed ownership of the site and neighboring lands during Spanish colonization. It was one of the last bastions of resistance and refuge of the Son of the Sun, Manco Inca Yupanqui, spreading over 700 meters, the ceremonial area drops as much as 65 meters from the elevated areas to the main square. The city also played an important role as a link between the Amazon Jungle and the city of Cusco, Choquequirao is situated at an elevation of 3,000 m above sea level on a southwest-facing spur of a glaciated peak above the Apurimac River. The region is characterized by mountain topography and covered with Amazonian flora and it is 98 km west of Cusco, in the Vilcabamba range. Architecturally it is similar to Machu Picchu, also there is a conglomeration of common buildings clustered away from the plaza. Excavations and surface items suggest they were used for workshops. Most buildings are well-preserved and well-restored, restoration continues, the terrain around the site was greatly modified. The central area of the site was leveled artificially and the hillsides were terraced to allow cultivation. The typical Inca terraces form the largest constructions on site, many of the ceremonial structures are associated with water. There are two unusual temple waka sites that lie several hundred meters lower than the two plazas and these are carefully crafted step terraces down a steep slope are designed around water
5.
Andes
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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
6.
Granite
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Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be white, pink, or gray in color. The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the structure of such a holocrystalline rock. By definition, granite is a rock with at least 20% quartz. The term granitic means granite-like and is applied to granite and a group of igneous rocks with similar textures and slight variations in composition. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a texture is known as a granite porphyry. Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks, petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite, Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout human history, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 •1019 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C, it is reduced in the presence of water. Granite has poor primary permeability, but strong secondary permeability, true granite according to modern petrologic convention contains both plagioclase and alkali feldspars. When a granitoid is devoid or nearly devoid of plagioclase, the rock is referred to as alkali feldspar granite, when a granitoid contains less than 10% orthoclase, it is called tonalite, pyroxene and amphibole are common in tonalite. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas is called a binary or two-mica granite, two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites. A worldwide average of the composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses. Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age, it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs, granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. Granite often occurs as small, less than 100 km² stock masses
7.
Caral
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This article is about the archaeological site. Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas and a site of the Norte Chico civilization. Caral was inhabited roughly between the 26th and 20th centuries BCE, enclosing an area of more than 60 hectares. Caral was described by its excavators as the oldest urban center in the Americas, accommodating more than 3000 inhabitants, it is the best studied and one of the largest Norte Chico sites known. Ruth Shady further explored the 4, 000- to 4, 600-year-old city of temples in the Peruvian desert, with its complex of temples. The urban complex is spread out over 150 acres and contains plazas, Caral was a thriving metropolis at roughly the same time that Egypts great pyramids were being built. It is believed that Caral may answer questions about the origins of the Andean civilizations, among the artefacts found at Caral are a knotted textile piece that the excavators have labeled a quipu. Evidence has emerged that the quipu may also have recorded logographic information in the way writing does. Gary Urton has suggested that the quipus used a system which could record phonological or logographic data. The main temple complex is 150 meters long,110 meters wide and 28 meters high, the date of its construction is unknown. No trace of warfare has been found at Caral, no battlements, no weapons, ruth Shadys findings suggest it was a gentle society, built on commerce and pleasure. In one of the temples, they uncovered 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones and 37 cornetts of deer, one find revealed the remains of a baby, wrapped and buried with a necklace made of stone beads. Caral spawns 19 other temple complexes scattered across the 35 square miles area of the Supe Valley, the find of the quipu indicates that the later Inca Empire preserved some cultural continuity from the Caral civilization. The date of 2627 BCE is based on carbon dating reed and these bags were used to carry the stones that were used for the construction of the temples. The material is an excellent candidate for dating, thus allowing for a high precision, the site may date even earlier as samples from the oldest parts of the excavation have yet to be dated. The town had a population of approximately 3000 people, however, there are 19 other sites in the area, allowing for a possible total population of 20,000 people for the Supe Valley. All of these sites in the Supe valley share similarities with Caral and they had small platforms or stone circles. In 2000, Marco Machacuay and his colleague, Rocío Aramburú and this image, known as a geoglyph, is located on the desert floor just west of the main site at Caral
8.
Chan Chan
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Chan Chan, the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America, is now an archaeological site in La Libertad Region 5 kilometres west of Trujillo, Peru. Chan Chan is located in the mouth of the Moche Valley and was the capital of the empire of the Chimor from 900 to 1470. Chimor, a conquest state, developed from the Chimú culture which established itself along the Peruvian coast around 1400 AD, in the Chimú tongue, Quingnam, Chan Chan means Sun Sun, it was named for its sunny climate which is cooled year round by a southerly breeze. Chan Chan is in a particularly arid section of the desert of northern Peru. Due to the lack of rain in this area, the source of water for Chan Chan is in the form of rivers carrying surface runoff from the Andes. This runoff allows for control of land and water through irrigation systems, the city of Chan Chan spanned 20 km² and had a dense urban center of 6 km² which contained extravagant ciudadelas. Ciudadelas were large architectural masterpieces which housed plazas, storerooms, the splendor of these ciudadelas suggests their association with the royal class. Housing for the classes of Chan Chans hierarchical society are known as small. Because the lower classes were often artisans whose role in the empire was to produce crafts, many of these SIARs were used as workshops. In this figure, it can be seen that Verlarde, Laberinto, and Bandelier form the border of Chan Chan while Uhle, Chaiguac, Tschudi. The location chosen for the coordinates is in the center of these cities, the name is probabilly derived from the Quingnam Jiang or Chang which means Sun, from which Chan-Chan would be literally, Sun-Sun. It is hypothesized that its meaning would be, Great sun, resplendent Sun. Another theory says that the name would derive from the term, the Shi voice translates as Moon and An as house, meaning House of the Moon, making known that the Moon was the main deity. Chan Chan is believed to have been constructed around 850 AD by the Chimú and it was the Chimor empire capital city with an estimated population of 40, 000-60,000 people. After the Inca conquered the Chimú around 1470 AD, Chan Chan fell into decline, in 1535 AD, Francisco Pizarro founded the Spanish city of Trujillo which pushed Chan Chan further into the shadows. While no longer a capital city, Chan Chan was still well known for its great riches and was consequently looted by the Spaniards. An indication of the great Chimú wealth is seen in a sixteenth century list of items looted from a tomb in Chan Chan. In 1969, Michael Moseley and Carol J. Mackey began excavations of Chan Chan, the plan was approved by the Peruvian Government
9.
Cusco Region
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Cusco is a region in Peru. It is bordered by the Ucayali Region on the north, the Madre de Dios and Puno regions on the east, the Arequipa Region on the south, and its capital is Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. It is located about 3,000 metres above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude such as potatoes, tarwi, barley. According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua, the Quechua variety spoken in this region is Cusco Quechua
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