An assemblage of objects discovered at Peñico on the north-central coast of Peru, dating to 3,800 years ago, provides new evidence for the continuity of the Caral culture. Caral is considered the oldest known ‘advanced’ civilisation in the Americas, emerging…
Apart from the Black Death, there is not another historical disease that piques public interest quite like syphilis. The question of whether the bacterium responsible was brought to Europe from the New World following the voyage of Christopher Columbus, or…
A new technique is offering fresh insights into ancient tattoos.
A unique exhibition at the Wereldmuseum Leiden in the Netherlands explores how gold has inspired humankind throughout history. Gillis Kersting visited to find out more.
As the British Museum launches its first permanent display dedicated to the cultures of Peru and the Andes, Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
With no contemporary written record to guide us, we cannot know the precise meaning behind the many depictions of human hands featured in prehistoric cave art around the world – the oldest known examples of which are believed to have…
During which time period did the Olmecs flourish?
Understanding burial practices and funerary customs is a vital part of any attempt to understand an ancient culture – for while the need to separate the living from the dead is common to all human societies, the way in which…
Which emperor constructed the 15th-century Inca citadel of Machu Picchu?
The fact that cacao appears to have been generally available does not diminish its value, but rather suggests that its importance for the Maya people extended throughout society.
War, Spectacle, and Politics in the Ancient Andes by Elizabeth N Arkush provides a well-organised analysis of the external/environmental and internal/psychological factors that shaped pre-contact Andean warfare. More specifically, the key argument is that Andean conflict was entwined with the…
The settlement has been dated to the Early Classic Period (c. AD 250-600).
What name is given to the now-submerged geographical feature which allowed early humans to gain access to the Americas?
People investing in DNA ancestry kits should be aware that they might not get the answers they were expecting: people who want to know if they have Viking DNA or are related to Richard III might instead discover an awkward family secret.
Although the Chimú are known to have practised human sacrifice, it is currently not possible to say whether this is the case here.
“Our present Hispanic-Peruvian civilisation cannot stand except on an indigenous pedestal.”
For some ancient Peruvian societies, the past and the future were alive, as were the dramatic landscapes they lived in. Lucia Marchini speaks to Cecilia Pardo, Jago Cooper, and Tom Cummins to find out more about how these concepts permeated the art of the Andes.
A number of imaginative solutions to the global-warming crisis were on offer this month, as world leaders gathered in Glasgow to discuss ways of tackling climate change – but one subject that was not up for discussion was human sacrifice. As a fascinating new exhibition on the history and culture of Peru makes clear, however, the Inca and other pre-Columbian civilisations of the central Andean region had no such qualms.
To which other land mass is South America believed to have been joined before the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea around 225 million years ago?
• Glass beads shed light on Pre-Columbian trade
• X-ray of a pregnant mummy
• Constantine the Great reunited with a messing finger
With the arrival of spring and the promise of lockdown restrictions lifting over the next few months, we are looking forward to visits to museums and heritage sites in the not-too-distant future. For now, though, there are still plenty of things to keep you busy at home, whether you are looking for online exhibitions, craft ideas, or even some of the talks from Current Archaeology’s annual conference! Amy Brunskill has put together another selection of the latest options.
Cuzco was the heart of the vast Inca empire, but all changed in the 16th century when the capital was conquered by Spanish invaders. Michael J Schreffler investigates the Inca city, and how it went from the centre of one empire to the periphery of another.
Survey near the town of Palpa, Peru, has revealed a wealth of geoglyphs that appear to be older than their celebrated neighbours at Nasca. Luis Jaime Castillo, Johny Isla, Fabrizio Serván, and Karla Patroni reveal what has been found, and why these images seem to have been aimed at a very different audience to the Nasca lines.