The Inka Empire and Its Andean Origins

Abstract

Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, this illustrated history of the Inkas and their predecessors offers a fresh appraisal of a remarkable civilization. Based on recent archaeological studies, this story of the Andean people traces the development of their complex civilization from its beginnings 11,000 years ago to its culmination - the vast and powerful Inka Empire - in the 16th century. The book describes and illustrates their agricultural methods, social organization, political structure, religious beliefs, ceremonial practices, technologies and artistic expression. Their achievements include intricate weaving techniques; gold, ceramic and metalwork of stunning originality; the construction of monumental buildings at the same time as the pyramids were being built in Egypt; and early empires that rival those of the Old World in size and scope. The objects used to illustrate this volume have been photographed in the Museum of Natural History's Hall of South American Peoples, which houses the largest collection of Andean objects of any museum in the United States. Supplementing these pictures are panoramas of the spectacular and diverse land inhabited by the Inkas and the equally remarkable civilizations that preceded them.

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