The Qhapaq Ñan was more than a road system. It turned Andean movement, labor, ritual, communication, and...
Inca
Explore the Inca world from its Andean origins and expansion under the Sapa Inca to Spanish invasion, colonial disruption, and the survival of Indigenous traditions. These histories examine imperial government, religion, labor, agriculture, architecture, and daily life.
Explore Mesoamerican cult traditions, from jaguar worship to Xipe Totec, and how ritual shaped power, belief, and...
The dead did not vanish but were transformed. By Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction Across the high...
In the annals of history, one civilization stands out for its remarkable understanding of the cosmos—the mighty...
The ghost of the Incas’ farming achievements still shadows the Andes. They were masters of their harsh...
Inka khipus are bundles of woolen cords tied together with knots added to them to encode information....
The more we learn about these cultures, the more we appreciate what was special about each of...
This was a ritual device intended to promote agricultural fertility. Introduction Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, in...
They are remembered for their contributions to religion, architecture, and their famous network of roads through the...
The main legacy of the civilization was its power to inspire, including that of later resistance groups...
By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction For the Incas finely worked and highly decorative textiles came to symbolize both...
Incan mummies (mallki) which escaped looters have, in most cases, been excellently preserved. By Mark CartwrightHistorian Introduction...
Both the Egyptian and Inca cultures treated their deceased differently based on social hierarchy within the culture....
Yma Sumac’s career embodied many of the contradictions that emerge when the international desire to consume exoticism...
The last emperor, Sapa Inka Atahualpa / Wikimedia Commons The Sapa Inka (emperor) governed Tahuantinsuyu both efficiently and profitably. What’s...
16th century portrait of Atahualpa by an unknown artist from the Cusco School / Ethnological Museum of Berlin, Wikimedia...
Despite the extensive study of Moche iconography, the motivations behind the practice remain poorly understood By Christina Taggart...
AcequÃa del Camino Inca entrada a la Huaca de los Monos / Photo by Johnattan Rupire, Wikimedia...
Typical imperial Inca trapezoid windows from the sacred precinct of Coricancha, Cuzco, c. 1438 CE / Photo...
Sunrise over Machu Picchu / Photo by Allen Schmidt, Wikimedia Commons Forgotten for centuries by the outside...
Khipu in the Museo Machu Picchu, Casa Concha, Cusco / Wikimedia Commons Instead of words or pictograms, the...
Miniature gold llama figurine, c. 1500 C.E., Inka, gold, 6.3 x 1 cm, Peru © Trustees of...
The modern city of Cusco, overlooking the Plaza de Armas, Peru (photo: Michael and Kristine Senchyshyn, CC...
Objects unearthed in the Andes tell new stories of societies lacking hierarchical leadership in the time before...
Inka ruins, PÃsac, Peru (photo: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 3.0) By Dr. Sarahh Scher / 10.06.2017 Visiting Lecturer in Art History...
Along the Inka road system or Qhapaq Ñan today, Pucará del Aconquija, Argentina (photo: Ministerio de Cultura de...
Though some claim the stone structure at Pumapunku were alien, archaeologists find no real mysteries there. By...