Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ancient Peru
A
pachacuti,
according to the Incas, was a cataclysmic event that divided the different ages
of history. For the indigenous cultures that inhabited Peru in the 16th century, the arrival of
the Spanish was the most earth-shattering
pachacuti
imaginable. As conquerors are wont to
do, the Europeans went about obliterating native history: melting gold objects, immolating
religious icons and banning long-held traditions.
This has left historians to piece together Peru's pre-Columbian history largely by ex-
amining grave goods. (Not a single Andean culture left behind a written language.) Thank-
fully, the physical legacy is bountiful. This area has been home to civilizations large and
small, each with its own distinctive deities and traditions. Travelers to Peru can see sump-
tuous textiles, striking ceramics and monumental structures so well engineered they have
not only survived conquest, but centuries of calamitous earthquakes as well.
For the
Indiana Jones
set, the adventure begins here.
Top Ruins
Sites
» Machu Picchu, Sacred Val-
ley
» Chan Chan, Trujillo
» Sillustani, Puno
» Chavín de Huántar, Huaraz
» Huacas del Sol y de la Luna,
Trujillo
» Kuélap, Chachapoyas
