Incas

The Pachacamac Idol, a 1200-year-old wooden carving that held spiritual significance to the Inca

This Inca Idol Survived the Spanish Conquest. 500 Years Later, Archaeologists Are Unveiling Its History

A new analysis suggests the Pachacamac Idol, once thought destroyed, is probably older—and less bloody—than once believed

Research Suggests Machu Picchu Was Purposely Built on Top of Intersecting Fault Lines

It's believed the fissures produced chunks of cracked rock that aided in the construction of the city's tightly fitted stone walls

The 8-year-old girl lived in the Andes around 1470

500-Year-Old Inca Mummy Repatriated to Bolivia

Dubbed Ñusta, or 'Princess,' the mummy represents the first archaeologically significant set of remains to be repatriated to the Andean country

This geoglyph, previously identified as a hummingbird, actually depicts a hermit, a subgroup of hummingbird known to live in the forested regions of northern and eastern Peru

Scientists Identify Exotic Birds Depicted in Peru’s Mysterious Nazca Lines

The researchers argue that the non-native birds’ presence must be closely related to the etchings’ overall purpose

Archaeologists, Tour Operators, Locals Raise Alarm Over International Airport at Machu Picchu

They are petitioning the government to reconsider the project, which is planned to be completed by 2023

Beer Fueled Diplomacy in This Ancient Empire

Analysis shows a brewery at a Wari outpost in the mountains of southern Peru strengthened bonds with friends and neighbors

Typical Tiwanaku-period offerings at Khoa Reef in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, including stone carvings and sacrificial animal bones.

Before the Inca Ruled South America, the Tiwanaku Left Their Mark on the Andes

Artifacts including gold medallions and sacrificial llama bones reveal the ritual pilgrimages taken around Lake Titicaca

What Llama-Poop-Eating Mites Tell Us About the Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Lake-dwelling mite populations boomed at the height of the Andean civilization but dropped following the arrival of Spanish conquistadors

Paolo Guerrero was initially banned from the World Cup for drug use, but has been temporarily reinstated thanks to some Inca mummies.

How Inca Mummies Helped a Soccer Player Who Was Banned from the World Cup

Paolo Guerrero failed a drug test, but insists he never took cocaine. Three ancient mummies are lending credence to his case

Inca Skull Surgeons Had Better Success Rates Than American Civil War Doctors

Survival rates among later Inca cultures was significantly higher. However, the 19th-century soldiers were facing trauma caused by industrial-age warfare

View of Trujillo between mountains and desert In Peru

Archaeologists Discover Site of One of History's Largest-Recorded Incidents of Child Sacrifice

The excavation uncovered the remains of more than 140 children and 200 llamas, who were sacrificed some 550 years ago in Peru's northern coast

The body-shaped sarcophagi of Karajía contained the remains of high-ranking Chachapoya ancestors.

When Genetics and Linguistics Challenge the Winners’ Version of History

New research shows that indigenous Peruvians were more resilient than the conquering Inca gave them credit for

An Incan mummy found at Mount Llullaillaco, Argentina, in 1999, which was used in the study

What Mummy DNA Reveals About the Spread and Decline of People in the Americas

Researchers have pieced together how humans spread from Alaska to Argentina and the extent of devastation from the introduction of European disease

Visit Machu Picchu With Google Street View

Armed with a backpack and 15 high-res cameras, Google just tackled one of the world's wonders

Pacchanta's Maria Merma Gonzalo practices weaving techniques that have changed little in 500 years.

In a Small Village High in the Peruvian Andes, Life Stories Are Written in Textiles

Through weaving, the women of Ausangate, Peru, pass down the traditions of their ancestors

Ancient mummified bodies stand guard over windswept deserts near the Nazca and Ica mountain summits.

The Fascinating Afterlife of Peru's Mummies

From inside stone palaces and atop sacred mountaintops, the Inca dead continued to wield incredible power over the living

Stone steps descend as far as 500 feet into the Moray concentric agriculture terraces near Maras, Peru, crossing a temperature differential of some 60 degrees. Ancient innovators may have domesticated and hybridized plant species here, using temperature ranges to simulate conditions found across the far-flung Inca Empire.

What Endures From the Ancient Civilizations That Once Ruled the Central Andes?

To journey here is to roam through almost six thousand years of civilization, to one of the places where the human enterprise began

Hiram Bingham called Machu Picchu “the most important ruin discovered in South America since the Spanish conquest.”

What It's Like to Travel the Inca Road Today

A rocky rollicking journey to Machu Picchu along one of the greatest engineering feats in the Americas

Rumi Colca gateway, Cusco, Peru, 2014

How the Inca Empire Engineered a Road Across Some of the World's Most Extreme Terrain

For a new exhibition, a Smithsonian curator conducted oral histories with contemporary indigenous cultures to recover lost Inca traditions

Q'eswachaka suspension bridge. Q'eswachaka, Apurímac River, Canas Province, Cusco, Peru.

A Dozen Indigenous Craftsman From Peru Will Weave Grass into a 60-Foot Suspension Bridge in Washington, D.C.

The ancient technology used lightweight materials to create soaring 150-foot spans that could hold the weight of a marching army

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