The Andes before 1492

Los Andes antes de 1492

c. 900 BC–1492. The central Andes, today's Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Chile, produced a long line of cultures before the Inca.

Draft: not yet checked against its sources.

What happened

The central Andes, today's Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Chile, produced a long line of cultures before the Inca. Chavín de Huántar (c. 900–200 BC) was a pilgrimage centre whose art spread across the region. On the south coast the Nazca (c. 200 BC–AD 600) drew giant lines and figures on the desert. Tiwanaku, on Lake Titicaca at 3,850 metres, was the capital of a highland state (c. 200–1000) whose stonework the Inca later imitated. Then, from about 1438, the Inca of Cusco built the largest empire the Americas had seen, Tawantinsuyu, tied together by roads, storehouses and the Quechua language, which is still spoken by millions.

Within it

• The Inca Empire (c. 1438–1533)

Its events

1. between 200 BC and 600: The Nazca draw on the desert
2. c. 1438–1471: Pachacuti and the rise of the Inca

Sources

1. Chavin Civilization — World History Encyclopedia
2. Nazca Civilization — World History Encyclopedia
3. Tiwanaku — World History Encyclopedia
4. Inca Civilization — World History Encyclopedia