For centuries, the vanished Inca fortress of Ancocagua existed only in lore. Now, at a mountaintop site in Peru, researchers ...

The Inca recognized the importance of guano and the islands where the so-called guano birds breed as central to the survival of their civilization — and they responded by implementing the first ever ...

The Inca Empire in South America, one of the most powerful pre-Columbian societies, was known for many innovations — such as the architecture of Machu Picchu, an extensive road network, and a system ...

aYou've likely heard of the advanced skills of the Inca Empire. From creating a reliable system of measurement and ...

The snake on this Wari vessel (800-1000 AD) represented a sacred animal symbolically linked with water and fertility. Ernest Amoroso, NMAI/SI A belt (ca. 1450) made from the shell of a mollusk ...

According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has the statue in its collection, the llama stands about 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) tall and was crafted from an alloy of silver, gold and copper.

The Peruvian town of Huaytará is home to a 15th-century Inca building that’s unusually simple for the civilization, which is known for its intricate architecture, like the structures seen across Machu ...

"Land of the Four Quarters" or Tahuantinsuyu is the name the Inca gave to their empire. It stretched north to south some 2,500 miles along the high mountainous Andean range from Colombia to Chile and ...

These children [to be sacrificed to the mountain and other gods] would be collected from all over the land and would be carried in litters together … They should be very well dressed, paired up female ...

(This program is no longer available for online streaming.) Through a mix of crime-lab science, archeology, and history, this NOVA/National Geographic special presents new evidence that is changing ...

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: The Inca quipu was a complex ...

Do long-dead builders have the answer to more sustainable road development? A new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC shows why the Incan kingdom built a lasting infrastructure.