1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
Quechua language
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Quechua /ˈkɛtʃwə/, also known as runa simi, is an indigenous language family, with variations spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Andes and highlands of South America. Derived from an ancestral language, it is the most widely spoken language family of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Approximately 13% of Peruvians speak Quechua and it is perhaps most widely known for being the main language of the Inca Empire, and was disseminated by the colonizers throughout their reign. Quechua had already expanded across wide ranges of the central Andes long before the expansion of the Inca Empire, the Inca were one among many peoples in present-day Peru who already spoke forms of Quechua. In the Cusco region, Quechua was influenced by languages such as Aymara. The Cuzco variety of Quechua developed as quite distinct, in similar ways, diverse dialects developed in different areas, related to existing local languages, when the Inca Empire ruled and imposed Quechua as the official language. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century and it was officially recognized by the Spanish administration and many Spanish learned it in order to communicate with the local peoples. Clergy of the Catholic Church adopted Quechua to use as the language of evangelization, given its use by the Catholic missionaries, the range of Quechua continued to expand in some areas. In the late 18th century, colonial officials ended administrative and religious use of Quechua, the Crown banned even loyal pro-Catholic texts in Quechua, such as Garcilaso de la Vegas Comentarios Reales. Despite a brief revival of the immediately after the Latin American nations achieved independence in the 19th century. Gradually its use declined so that it was mostly by indigenous people in the more isolated. Nevertheless in the 21st century, those speaking Quechua language speakers number 8 to 10 million people across South America, the oldest written records of the language are by missionary Domingo de Santo Tomás, who arrived in Peru in 1538 and learned the language from 1540. He published his Grammatica o arte de la lengua de los indios de los reynos del Perú in 1560. In 1975 Peru became the first country to recognize Quechua as one of its official languages, the major obstacle to the usage and teaching of Quechua is the lack of written materials in that language, such as books, newspapers, software, and magazines. The Bible has been translated into Quechua and is distributed by certain missionary groups, Quechua, along with Aymara and the minor indigenous languages, remains essentially a spoken language. In recent years, Quechua has been introduced in intercultural education in Bolivia, Ecuador. Even in these areas, the governments are reaching only a part of the Quechua-speaking populations, some indigenous people in each of the countries are having their children study in Spanish for the purposes of social advancement. Radio Nacional del Perú broadcasts news and agrarian programs in Quechua for periods in the mornings, Quechua and Spanish are now heavily intermixed in much of the Andean region, with many hundreds of Spanish loanwords in Quechua
Quechua language
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Quechua
3.
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
Cusco Region
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Machu Picchu, the lost city of the
Inca
Cusco Region
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Political division of the Cusco Region
Cusco Region
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Balconies at the main square in Cusco
4.
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
Peru
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Sculpted
Chavin head embedded in one of the walls of the temple of
Chavín de Huantar
Peru
Peru
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A
Moche ceramic vessel from the 5th century depicting a man's head
Peru
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The citadel of
Machu Picchu, an iconic symbol of pre-Columbian Peru
5.
Manco Inca
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Manco Inca Yupanqui was the founder and monarch of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, although he was originally a puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known as Manco II and Manco Cápac II and he was one of the sons of Huayna Cápac and a younger brother of Huascar. Túpac Huallpa was a puppet ruler crowned by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, after his death, Manco Inca joined Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro in Cajamarca. When Pizarros force arrived in Cusco, he had the caciques acknowledge Manco as their Inca, Manco Inca then joined Almagro and Hernando de Soto in pursuit of Quizquiz. The Pizarro brothers so mistreated Manco Inca that he tried to escape in 1535. He failed, was captured and imprisoned, Hernando Pizarro released him to recover a golden statue of his father Huayana Capac. Only accompanied by two Spaniards, he escaped a second time. Manco then gathered an army of 200,000 Inca warriors and laid siege to Cusco in early 1536, after ten months, Manco retreated to the nearby fortress of Ollantaytambo in 1537. Here Manco successfully defended attacks by the Spaniards in the battle of Ollantaytambo, Manco coordinated his siege of Cusco with one on Lima, led by one of his captains, Quiso Yupanqui. The Incans were able to defeat four relief expeditions sent by Francisco Pizarro from Lima and this resulted in the death of nearly 500 Spanish soldiers. Some Spaniards were captured and sent to Ollantaytambo, alonso de Alvarado was sent by Pizarro to Cusco, but upon his arrival at Abancay, he and his army were captured by Rodrigo Orgóñez in the Battle of Abancay. This was the beginning of the first civil war between the conquistadors, abandoning Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca retreated to Vitcos and finally to the remote jungles of Vilcabamba, where he founded the Neo-Inca State which lasted until the death of Túpac Amaru in 1572. From there, he continued his attacks against the Wankas, having some success after fierce battles, and to the highlands of present-day Bolivia, the Spaniards crowned his younger half brother Paullu Inca as puppet Sapa Inca after his retreat for his valuable help in that last campaign. The Spanish succeeded in capturing Mancos sister-wife, Cura Ocllo, and had her murdered in 1539. They in turn were all killed by Mancos soldiers, Manco was succeeded by his son Sayri Tupaq. Manco Inca had several sons, including Sayri Tupaq, Titu Cusi, Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire Sapa Inca Cura Ocllo
Manco Inca
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Manco Inca Yupanqui (drawing by
Guaman Poma)
6.
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
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
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Inca Empire
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
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Francisco Pizarro meets with Atahualpa, 1532
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
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The Inca–Spanish confrontation in the
Battle of Cajamarca left thousands of natives dead
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
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Pizarro and his followers founding Lima
7.
Cusco
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Cuzco, often spelled Cusco, is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province, in 2013, the city had a population of 435,114. Located on the end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 3,400 m. The site was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and it has become a major tourist destination, hosting nearly 2 million visitors a year. The Constitution of Peru designates it as the Historical Capital of Peru, the indigenous name of this city is Qusqu. Although the name was used in Quechua, its origin is found in the Aymara language, the word is derived from the phrase qusqu wanka, related to the citys foundation myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Awqa acquired wings and flew to the site of the future city, there he was transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his ayllu. Then Ayar Oche stood up, displayed a pair of large wings, then they went up on top of the hill. Now at the site where he was to remain as an idol and he returned and told Ayar Manco that from then on he was to be named Manco Capac. Ayar Oche came from where the Sun was and the Sun had ordered that Ayar Manco take that name, after this had been stated by the idol, Ayar Oche turned into a stone, just as he was, with his wings. Later Manco Capac went down with Ayar Auca to their settlement. he liked the place now occupied in this city Cuzco, Manco Capac and his companion, with the help of the four women, made a house. Having done this, Manco Capac and his companion, with the four women and it is said that they took the maize from the cave, which this lord Manco Capac named Pacaritambo, which means those of origin because. they came out of that cave. The Spanish conquistadors adopted the name, transliterating it into Spanish phonetics as Cuzco or, less often. Cuzco was the spelling on official documents and chronicles in colonial times. Cuzco, pronounced as in 16th-century Spanish, seems to have been an approximation to the Cusco Quechua pronunciation of the name at the time. As both Spanish and Quechuan pronunciation have evolved since then, the Spanish pronunciation of z is no longer close to the Quechuan pronunciation of the consonant represented by z in Cuzco. In 1976, the city signed an ordinance banning the traditional spelling and ordering the use of a new one, Cusco
Cusco
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The first image of Cuzco in Europe.
Pedro Cieza de León. Cronica del Peru, 1553.
Cusco
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Cristo Blanco in the surrounding mountains of Cusco
Cusco
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Night view of Plaza Regocijo, Cusco
Cusco
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Night view of the
Qurikancha and Convent of
St. Dominic
8.
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
Ollantaytambo
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Ollantaytambo Ullantaytampu
Ollantaytambo
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Wiracocha 's or Tunupa's image in stone on the mountain
Pinkuylluna overlooks Ollantaytambo. Wiracochan was the messenger of
Viracocha the creater god of pre-Incan and Incan mythology.
Ollantaytambo
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' Araqhama and the plaza of Manyaraki
Ollantaytambo
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A typical Inca doorway still used in the town. Note the single stone lintel, a sign of importance.
9.
Machu Picchu
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Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Often mistakenly referred to as the Lost City of the Incas, the Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls and its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored, Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In the Quechua language, machu means old or old person, while picchu means peak, mountain or prominence with a base that ends in sharp peaks. Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca and its construction appears to date to the period of the two great Inca rulers, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui and Túpac Inca Yupanqui. It was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572 and it is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travellers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. Although it was located only about 80 kilometers from the Inca capital in Cusco, the conquistadors had notes of a place called Piccho, although no record of a Spanish visit exists. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu, over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman. Some evidence indicates that German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier, maps show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874. In 1911 American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham travelled the region looking for the old Inca capital and was shown to Machu Picchu by a local farmer, Bingham brought Machu Picchu to international attention and organized another expedition in 1912 to undertake major clearing and excavation. He returned in 1914 and 1915 to continue with excavation, in 1981, Peru declared an area of 325.92 square kilometres surrounding Machu Picchu a Historical Sanctuary. In addition to the ruins, the sanctuary includes a portion of the adjoining region, rich with the flora and fauna of the Peruvian Yungas. In 1983, UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as a masterpiece of architecture
Machu Picchu
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Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
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Hiram Bingham III at his tent door near Machu Picchu in 1912
Machu Picchu
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View of the city of Machu Picchu in 1912 showing the original ruins after major clearing and before modern reconstruction work began.
Machu Picchu
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The dawn mist lifts above the terraced structures
10.
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
Choquequirao
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Truncated hill top at Choquequirao
Choquequirao
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Terraces at Choquequirao
Choquequirao
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Main structures of Choquequirao
Choquequirao
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White stone woman in the terraces of Choquequirao
11.
Neo-Inca State
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The Neo-Inca State, also known as the Neo-Inca state of Vilcabamba, was the Inca state established by Inca emperor Huayna Capacs son Manco Inca Yupanqui in Vilcabamba in 1537. It is considered the remnants of the Inca Empire after the Spanish conquest and it lasted until 1572, when the last Inca stronghold was conquered, and the last ruler, Túpac Amaru, Mancos son, was captured and executed. This ended resistance to the Spanish conquest under the authority of the Inca state. During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, Túpac Huallpa was a puppet ruler crowned by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, after his death, Manco Inca Yupanqui joined Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro in Cajamarca. When Pizarros force arrived in Cusco, he had the caciques acknowledge Manco as their Inca, Manco Inca then joined Almagro and Hernando de Soto in pursuit of Quizquiz. The Pizarro brothers so mistreated Manco Inca that he tried to escape in 1535. He failed, was captured and imprisoned, Hernando Pizarro released him to recover a golden statue of his father Huayana Capac. Only accompanied by two Spaniards, he escaped a second time. Manco then gathered an army of 100,000 Inca warriors and laid siege to Cusco in early 1536, after ten months, Manco retreated to the nearby fortress of Ollantaytambo in 1537. Here Manco repelled attacks by the Spaniards in the Battle of Ollantaytambo, Manco coordinated his siege of Cusco with one on Lima, led by one of his captains, Quiso Yupanqui. The Incans were able to defeat four relief expeditions sent by Francisco Pizarro from Lima and this resulted in the death of nearly 500 Spanish soldiers. Some Spaniards were captured and sent to Ollantaytambo, however, with the Spaniards position consolidated by Almagros reinforcements, Manco Inca decided that Ollantaytambo was too close to Cusco to be tenable so he withdrew further west. Abandoning Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca retreated to Vitcos and finally to the jungles of Vilcabamba. At Vilcabamba the state known as the Neo-Inca State was established by Manco, from there, he continued his attacks against the Wankas, having some success after fierce battles, and to the highlands of present-day Bolivia, where after many battles his army was defeated. They in turn were all killed by Mancos soldiers, Manco was succeeded by his son Sayri Tupaq. He was five years old at the time and he became Inca in Vilcabamba, reigning for ten years with the aid of regents. This was a time of peace with the Spanish, viceroy Pedro de la Gasca offered to provide Sayri Túpac with lands and houses in Cuzco if he would emerge from the isolated Vilcabamba. Sayri Túpac accepted, but during the preparations his relative Paullu Inca suddenly died and this was taken as a bad omen, and Sayri Tupac remained in Vilcabamba
Neo-Inca State
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Inca Empire
Neo-Inca State
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Banner of the Tawantinsuyu
12.
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
Andes
–
Aerial photo of a portion of the Andes between
Argentina and
Chile
Andes
Andes
–
"
Cono de Arita " in the
Puna de Atacama,
Salta (
Argentina).
Andes
–
Aerial view of Aconcagua.
13.
Pachacuti
–
Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui or Pachacutec or Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki was the ninth Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire. Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Pachacuti, in Quechua Pachakutiq means he who overturns space and time, and Yupanki means with honor. During his reign, Cusco grew from a hamlet into an empire that could compete with, and eventually overtake and he began an era of conquest that, within three generations, expanded the Inca dominion from the valley of Cusco to nearly the whole of western South America. He was the ruler of the Inca state who, from ruling a simple chiefdom came to rule a great empire. Although he had not been designated as successor by his father Viracocha Inca, he led a defense against the warlike army of Chanka while his father. The victory over the Chankas made Inca Viracocha recognize him as his successor around 1438, as part of his vision of a statesman and warrior chieftain he conquered many ethnic groups and states, highlighting his conquest of the Collao that enhanced the prestige of the Inca Pachacutec. Due to the expansion of their domains he was considered an exceptional leader, enlivening glorious epic stories. Numerous kurakas do not hesitate to recognize his skills and identify him as son of the Sun and he conquered the provinces of Colla-Suyu and Chinchay-Suyu. Along with his sons, Tupac Ayar Manco, and Apu Paucar Usnu, additionally, he left garrisons in subjugated lands. Pachacuti, son of Inca Viracocha, was the fourth of the Hanan dynasty and his wifes name was Mama Anahuarqui, or Quya Anawarkhi. He had three sons, Tupac Ayar Manco, Apu Paucar, and Tupac Inca Yupanqui, pacachuti had his two brothers, Ccapac Yupanqui and Huayana Yupanqui, killed after the military campaign against the province of Chinchay-Suyu. He also killed his sons Tilca Yupanqui and Auqui Yupanqui, Amaru, the older son, was originally chosen to be co-regent and eventual successor. Pachacuti later chose Tupac Inca because Amaru was not a warrior and he was also the first one to retire. Pachacutis given name was Cusi Yupanqui and he was not supposed to succeed his father Inca Viracocha who had appointed his brother Urco as crown prince. However in the midst of an invasion of Cuzco by the Chankas, while his father and brother fled the scene, Pachacuti rallied the army and prepared for a desperate defense of his homeland. In the resulting battle, the Chankas were defeated so severely that legend tells even the stones rose up to fight on Pachacutis side, thus The Earth Shaker won the support of his people and the recognition of his father as crown prince after the death of Urco. Pachacuti rebuilt much of Cusco, designing it to serve the needs of an imperial city, each suyu had a sector of the city, centering on the road leading to that province, nobles and immigrants lived in the sector corresponding to their origin. Each sector was divided into areas for the hanan and hurin moieties
Pachacuti
–
Statue of Pachacuti,
Aguas Calientes, Peru
Pachacuti
–
Pachacuti as drawn by
Guaman Poma
14.
Cuzco
–
Cuzco, often spelled Cusco, is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province, in 2013, the city had a population of 435,114. Located on the end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 3,400 m. The site was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and it has become a major tourist destination, hosting nearly 2 million visitors a year. The Constitution of Peru designates it as the Historical Capital of Peru, the indigenous name of this city is Qusqu. Although the name was used in Quechua, its origin is found in the Aymara language, the word is derived from the phrase qusqu wanka, related to the citys foundation myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Awqa acquired wings and flew to the site of the future city, there he was transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his ayllu. Then Ayar Oche stood up, displayed a pair of large wings, then they went up on top of the hill. Now at the site where he was to remain as an idol and he returned and told Ayar Manco that from then on he was to be named Manco Capac. Ayar Oche came from where the Sun was and the Sun had ordered that Ayar Manco take that name, after this had been stated by the idol, Ayar Oche turned into a stone, just as he was, with his wings. Later Manco Capac went down with Ayar Auca to their settlement. he liked the place now occupied in this city Cuzco, Manco Capac and his companion, with the help of the four women, made a house. Having done this, Manco Capac and his companion, with the four women and it is said that they took the maize from the cave, which this lord Manco Capac named Pacaritambo, which means those of origin because. they came out of that cave. The Spanish conquistadors adopted the name, transliterating it into Spanish phonetics as Cuzco or, less often. Cuzco was the spelling on official documents and chronicles in colonial times. Cuzco, pronounced as in 16th-century Spanish, seems to have been an approximation to the Cusco Quechua pronunciation of the name at the time. As both Spanish and Quechuan pronunciation have evolved since then, the Spanish pronunciation of z is no longer close to the Quechuan pronunciation of the consonant represented by z in Cuzco. In 1976, the city signed an ordinance banning the traditional spelling and ordering the use of a new one, Cusco
Cuzco
–
The first image of Cuzco in Europe.
Pedro Cieza de León. Cronica del Peru, 1553.
Cuzco
–
Top: Plaza de Armas, Middle left:
Qurikancha, Middle right: Aerial view of Cusco, Bottom left:
Saksaywaman, Bottom right: Cathedral of Cusco
Cuzco
–
Cristo Blanco in the surrounding mountains of Cusco
Cuzco
–
Night view of Plaza Regocijo, Cusco
15.
Topa Inca Yupanqui
–
Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui, translated as noble Inca accountant, was the second Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty, and tenth of the Inca civilization. His father was Pachacuti, and his son was Huayna Capac, topa Inca belonged to the Qhapaq panaca. His father appointed him to head the Inca army in 1463 and he extended the realm northward along the Andes through modern Ecuador, and developed a special fondness for the city of Quito, which he rebuilt with architects from Cuzco. He became Inca in his turn upon his fathers death in 1471 and he conquered Chimor, which occupied the northern coast of what is now Peru, the largest remaining rival to the Incas. He conquered the province of Antis and subdued the Collas and he imposed rules and taxes, creating two Governor Generals, Suyuyoc Apu, one in Xauxa and the other in Tiahuanacu. Tupac Inca Yupanqui created the fortress Saksaywaman on the plateau above Cuzco. Tupac Inca died in 1493, leaving two sons, and 90 illegitimate sons and daughters. He had nominated as his successor Ccapac Huari, son of his concubine Chuqui Ocllo and this left the path clear for his legitimate son, Titu Cusi Hualpa, to succeed him as the emperor Huayna Capac. Topa Inca Yupanqui is also credited with leading a roughly 10-month-long voyage of exploration into the Pacific around 1480, reportedly visiting islands he called Nina Chumpi, the voyage is mentioned in the History of the Incas by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa in 1572. Pedro Sarmiento described the expedition as follows, …there arrived at Tumbez some merchants who had come by sea from the west and they gave information of the land whence they came, which consisted of some islands called Avachumbi and Ninachumbi, where there were many people and much gold. Tupac Inca was a man of lofty and ambitious ideas, and was not satisfied with the regions he had already conquered. So he determined to challenge a happy fortune, and see if it would favour him by sea. … The Inca, having this certainty and he caused an immense number of balsas to be constructed, in which he embarked more than 20,000 chosen men. These trophies were preserved in the fortress of Cuzco until the Spaniards came, the duration of this expedition undertaken by Tupac Inca was nine months, others say a year, and, as he was so long absent, every one believed he was dead. Many historians are skeptical that the voyage took place. Supporters have usually identified the islands with the Galápagos Islands and it has also been suggested that one of the islands was Easter Island, where oral traditions have claimed that a group of long-eared hanau eepe came to the island from an unknown land
Topa Inca Yupanqui
–
Drawing by
Guaman Poma in 1615
16.
Hiram Bingham III
–
Hiram Bingham III was an American academic, explorer and politician. He made public the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers, later, Bingham served as a member of the United States Senate for the state of Connecticut. Bingham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Clara Brewster and Hiram Bingham II, an early Protestant missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii and he attended Oahu College, now known as Punahou School in Hawaii from 1882 to 1892. He went to the United States in his teens in order to complete his education, entering Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and he earned a B. A. D. from Harvard University in 1905. Since Harvard at the time did not have a specialist in Latin American history, while at Yale, Bingham was a member of Acacia Fraternity. He taught history and politics at Harvard and then served as preceptor under Woodrow Wilson at Princeton University, Bingham has been considered one of the pioneers of teaching and research on Latin American history in the U. S. S. as well as in South America. From 1924, he was a member of the Acorn Club, Bingham was not a trained archaeologist. Yet, it was during Binghams time as a lecturer – later professor – in South American history at Yale that he re-discovered the largely forgotten Inca city of Machu Picchu, in 1908, he had served as delegate to the First Pan American Scientific Congress at Santiago, Chile. On his way home via Peru, a local prefect convinced him to visit the city of Choquequirao. Bingham published an account of this trip in Across South America, an account of a journey from Buenos Aires to Lima by way of Potosí, with notes on Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Bingham was thrilled by the prospect of unexplored Inca cities, and he in fact, guided by locals, rediscovered and correctly identified both Vitcos and Vilcabamba, which he named Eromboni Pampa. However, he did not correctly recognize Vilcabamba as the last capital, instead continuing onward, on July 24,1911, Melchor Arteaga led Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediate valley. Also the Cusco explorers Enrique Palma, Gabino Sanchez and Agustín Lizarraga are said to have arrived at the site in 1901, Bingham returned to Peru in 1912,1914 and 1915 with the support of Yale and the National Geographic Society. In The Lost City of the Incas, Bingham related how he came to believe that Machu Picchu housed a religious shrine. Modern archaeological research has determined that the site was not a religious center but a royal estate to which Inca leaders. The switchback-filled road that carries tourist buses to the site from the Urubamba River is called the Hiram Bingham Highway, Bingham has been cited as one possible basis for the Indiana Jones character. His book Lost City of the Incas became a bestseller upon its publication in 1948, Peru has long sought the return of the estimated 40,000 artifacts, including mummies, ceramics and bones, that Bingham had excavated and exported from the Machu Picchu site. On September 14,2007, an agreement was made between Yale University and the Peruvian government for the return of the objects, on April 12,2008, the Peruvian government stated that it had revised previous estimates of 4,000 pieces up to 40,000
Hiram Bingham III
–
Hiram Bingham III
Hiram Bingham III
–
Bingham (upper right) with a local guide on a jungle bridge at
Espiritu Pampa in Peru, hand-colored glass slide, 1911
Hiram Bingham III
–
Hiram Bingham painted by
Mary Foote, sister of Harry Ward Foote, the Yale chemistry professor who was Bingham's companion on his trips to Peru
Hiram Bingham III
–
Hiram Bingham III at his desk in 1917
17.
Qollqa
–
A qullqa (Quechua pronunciation, deposit, storehouse, was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. The uncertainty of agriculture at the high altitudes which comprised most of the Inca Empire was among the factors which probably stimulated the construction of large numbers of qullqas. The pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, of which the Inca Empire was the last, the heartland of the empire and much of its arable land was at elevations between 3,000 metres to more than 4,000 metres and subject to frost, hail, and drought. Tropical crops could not be grown in the growing seasons. The people at higher elevations grew potatoes, quinoa and a few other root, herding llamas and alpacas for meat, wool, and as beasts of burden was important. Storage facilities were necessary because the Incas did not have navigable rivers, wheeled vehicles, or draft animals, except llamas. Nor did the Incas have a monetary, financial, or trading system to facilitate commerce. Thus, food and other items were stored near where they were produced and distributed by the State when necessary, large numbers of qullqas were constructed near every major governmental center, state-owned farm, temple, and royal estate. Qullqas were built at every tambo, which were located a days march, about 22 kilometres. Another use for the items, especially food, was for the ceremonial feasts that were an important part of the relationship between the rulers and their subjects. Food was also distributed to the populace in cases of crop failures or shortages of food. The products stored in qullqas varied from region to region in the Inca Empire depending upon production in the local area. At Wanuku Pampa in north central Peru, a major Inca administrative and storage area,50 to 80 percent of the qullqas were used to store dried potatoes and other root crops. Only 5 to 7 percent of qullqas were devoted to the storage of maize, probably because the high altitudes, root crops were layered with straw and baled for storage. Maize was shelled and stored in large jars, additional agriculture products stored in qullqas consisted of quinoa, beans, other vegetables, dried meat (Charki or jerky, and seeds. Non-agricultural goods stored included textiles and clothing, wool, cotton, the economy of the Inca Empire was to a large extent redistributive. The Inca state seems to have financed itself primarily through direct managerial command of land, labor, and storage systems, rather than through a market exchange system. Under the mita system, citizens were required to labor to the Empire and the resultant production of food, textiles
Qollqa
–
Qullqa above Ollantaytambo, Peru
18.
Archaeological sites in Peru
–
Archaeological sites in Peru are numerous and diverse, representing different aspects including temples and fortresses of the various cultures of ancient Peru, such as the Moche and Nazca. The sites vary in importance from small local sites to UNESCO World Heritage sites of global importance and their nature and complexity of the sites vary from small single-featured sites such as pyramids to entire cities, such as Chan Chan and Machu Picchu. Preservation and investigation of sites are controlled mainly by the National Institute for Culture. The lack of funding to protect sites and enforce existing laws, results in large scale looting, the following is an alphabetical list of archaeological sites in Peru, it lists the main archaeological sites of touristic importance as published by the Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Tourism. Cultural periods of Peru List of pre-Columbian cultures National Institute for Culture Archaeological sites in Peru Peruvian Archaeology News
Archaeological sites in Peru
–
Acaray
Archaeological sites in Peru
–
El Brujo
Archaeological sites in Peru
–
Cahuachi
Archaeological sites in Peru
–
Caral
19.
Acaray
–
Radio carbon dating has established it was built about 900-200BC and abandoned 1000–1470AD. Surrounding the hilltop fortress are lower-lying areas of occupation and extensive cemeteries, attention was called to the site early on by the German archaeologist Hans Horkheimer, who wrote about Acaray in 1962 in the Peruvian magazine, Caretas, published in Lima. Horkheimer noted the abundance of rolled river cobbles on the surface of the site, during the 1970s interest in Acaray increased, and the first work by archaeologists was initiated at the fortress. She led a team that surveyed the Huaura Valley and excavated at several sites and she estimated that it was built about 900-200BC and abandoned 1000–1470AD. According to Brown Vega, Acaray early megalithic wall constructions may be similar to those of Chankillo from the same period, war and social life in prehispanic Perú, ritual, defense, and communities at the Fortress of Acaray, Huaura Valley. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, conflict in the early horizon and late intermediate period, new dates from the fortress of Acaray, Huaura valley, Perú. 30, 38B Ruiz Estrada, Arturo, Torero, M. Domingo, Acaray, huacho, Perú, Comite de Educacion de la Cooperative de Ahorro y Credito San Bartolome
Acaray
–
Fortified hilltop at Acaray
20.
Asana, Peru
–
Asana is an archaeological site by the Asana River, a tributary of the Osmore River, in the south-central Andes of southern Peru. The site is situated at an elevation of 3,430 metres, with land use documented from 3, 000–4,800 metres. Asana was occupied over the course of 8,000 years, though the inhabitants were initially mobile foragers, Asana is located on the north bank of the Asana River in the flat fertile valley along 11,270 feet of the river. The geological and geomorphological features are factors for its unique setting. An archaeological study of the Asana river valley was conducted 1986–89, the area studied was along a river length of about 20 kilometres, between Tumilaca Molina and Cueva Quellaveco and from the origin of the minor tributary of the river Charoque to Tala village. The valley floors and hill slopes, covering an area of 4.8 square kilometres, led to the discovery of the Asana site and also six rock shelters. One of the shelters, Qusquri, was discovered on the left bank of the river valley at an elevation of 3,000 metres, in a series of river terraces at an elevation range of 3. Human habitation has been traced to 10,500 BP at Asana, excavations have revealed six stratigraphic zones from 10,500 BP to 3500 BP, before the site became abandoned in 3500 BP. During the settlement period, guanaco and taruka were the local wild herbivores, over the centuries, the guanaco were domesticated. The Asana at the elevation had formed the base camp of the earliest settlers who were hunter gatherers, hunting guanaco. Up to 5000 BP, settlement became more permanent, the gradual change from forager over to the pastoral society was recorded between 4800 and 4400 BP. By Middle Halocene age, guanacos had been domesticated, if these limits increased then they would establish new camps. Human settlement abruptly ended at Asana, lithic material found at the site attests to the shifting of camps and supports links existing between the settlements of the lower and upper elevations. Both residential and non-residential structures were found and indicated a type of growth. Structure were dated between 5500–3600 BP, a ceremonial structure was found in an open air pre-ceramic site during excavations conducted from 1989–90. It is inferred that activities occurred at the site during a 250–500-year period. A feature identified as a ground, dated to 4800 BP, was thought to be used for feasts. Aldenderfer, Mark S. Montane Foragers, Asana and the South-Central Andean Archaic, Iowa City, University of Iowa Press
Asana, Peru
–
Taruca (
Hippocamelus antisensis) in the northern
Andean mountains.
Asana, Peru
–
Kotosh style of structure of the pre-historic period
21.
Cahuachi
–
Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, based from 1 AD to about 500 AD in the coastal area of the Central Andes. It overlooked some of the Nazca lines, the Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici has been excavating at the site for the past few decades. The site contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures, the past several years long time researcher Omar Faizi has conducted in depth study of the Nazca lines with startling conclusions to his study. Scholars once thought the site was the capital of the Nazca state but have determined that the permanent population was quite small and they believe that it was a pilgrimage center, whose population increased greatly in relation to major ceremonial events. New research has suggested that 40 of the mounds were natural hills modified to appear as artificial constructions, looting is the greatest problem facing the site today. Most of the burial sites surrounding Cahuachi were not known until recently and are tempting targets for looters, the Cahuachi site is located near the south coast of Peru, and found in the Nazca Valley. Within the Nazca Valley is the Río Grande de Nazca drainage system and is where the Nasca culture developed, the area is ecologically classified as “pre-mountain desert formation. Yunga refers to the Quechua Yungas meaning warm valley, the site itself can be found on the southern side of the Nazca River, one of ten major tributaries that form the Río Grande de Nazca drainage system. The Nazca Valley Grande drainage area is dry in the summer. Precipitation varies between none and 125 mm, the Río Grande regions soils are available for irrigation agriculture with limitations. Cahuachi is located off of the bottom of the treeless hills and terraces beneath Pampa de Atarco. It is on these hills that formed the core majority of artificial constructions at Cahuachi. Dr. Frabee was the first to acknowledge and excavate the site of Cahuachi in the Nazca region in 1922. The following researchers have studied and interpreted the site, Kroeber, Tello, Doering, Strong. Among the most extensive research done at Cahuachi was the conducted by William Strong. Strong was one of the archaeologists who took a broad approach to the site, contextualizing it within Nasca society. He set out to find evidence that would resolve the gap between Paracas and Nasca styles in the region. He also did settlement pattern studies in order to out the kinds of activities that went on at Cahuachi
Cahuachi
–
Adobe pyramids at Cahuachi
22.
Caral
–
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
Caral
–
Remains of Caral
Caral
–
The Caral pyramids in the arid Supe Valley, some 20 km from the Pacific coast.
Caral
–
Caral
Caral
–
One of the pyramids of Caral
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