Synopses & Reviews
This fascinating and accessible visual history tells the story of the ancient native peoples of Peru and the Andes. The Inca people began as a tribe in the Cuzco area around the 12th century, then evolved into a small city-state, and finally, in the mid-15th century, they began a far-reaching expansion under their first great leader, Pachacuti. By the end of his reign in 1471 most of what is modern Peru and Ecuador was already under Inca control, and, in the time of his son and grandson, their empire grew further to include Bolivia, and a large portion of northern Chile, and had even extended into corners of Colombia and Argentina. Their magnificent heritage is seen today in the ruins of vast cities and mighty pyramids, and the remains of complex textiles and fabulously delicate fragments of shining goldwork. The book is split into two sections. The first part focuses on how these communities functioned, and the day-to-day life for ordinary people at work and home, including the lives of farmers, craftworkers and administrators, the role of women, and the importance of religious beliefs. It shows how society developed from life in the first pre-ceramic villages to the sophisticated social systems in the empires of the Moche, Wari, Chimu, and Inca. The second part of the book tells the story of the arts and architecture, exploring their evolution in a land of many kingdoms, city-states and confederacies. Excavations, preserved architecture, and discovered art and artifacts supply the evidence in the absence of contemporary written accounts. These chapters beautifully illustrate the stunning crafts, art pieces and architecture of the ancient Andean region, from those mysterious linesgrooved in the desert to the temples erected at Kotosh, la Galgada, and Aspero. They examine and discuss the styles and materials used, the sophisticated urban planning developed to design and locate ceremonial, administrative and palatial buildings; the stone, plaster and clay sculptures that adorned them; and the amazing beauty of their ceramics, fabrics, and metalwork. Timelines, feature boxes, and a definitive glossary provide instant reference. This accessible and authoritative volume is illustrated with more than 500 photographs, specially commissioned artworks and maps to help pinpoint significant sites. Written by a leading specialist historian, the book affords a fascinating insight into the history and cultures of these ancient civilizations, which still speak poignantly to us today.
Synopsis
This fascinating visual history tells the story of the ancient peoples of Peru and the Andes. Explores economics and the world of work, religious beliefs and life at home, crime and punishment, and death and sacrifice.