The Last Days of the Incas

The Last Days of the Incas

Author: Kim MacQuarrie

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2008-06-17

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 0743260503

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Documents the epic conquest of the Inca Empire as well as the decades-long insurgency waged by the Incas against the Conquistadors, in a narrative history that is partially drawn from the storytelling traditions of the Peruvian Amazon Yora people. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.


Lost City of the Incas

Lost City of the Incas

Author: Hiram Bingham

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Published: 2010-12-16

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 0297865331

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in the 1950s, this is a classic account of the discovery in 1911 of the lost city of Machu Picchu. In 1911 Hiram Bingham, a pre-historian with a love of exotic destinations, set out to Peru in search of the legendary city of Vilcabamba, capital city of the last Inca ruler, Manco Inca. With a combination of doggedness and good fortune he stumbled on the perfectly preserved ruins of Machu Picchu perched on a cloud-capped ledge 2000 feet above the torrent of the Urubamba River. The buildings were of white granite, exquisitely carved blocks each higher than a man. Bingham had not, as it turned out, found Vilcabamba, but he had nevertheless made an astonishing and memorable discovery, which he describes in his bestselling book LOST CITY OF THE INCAS.


The Wayfinders

The Wayfinders

Author: Wade Davis

Publisher: House of Anansi

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0887847668

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Many of us are alarmed by the accelerating rates of extinction of plants and animals. But how many of us know that human cultures are going extinct at an even more shocking rate? While biologists estimate that 18 percent of mammals and 11 percent of birds are threatened, and botanists anticipate the loss of 8 percent of flora, anthropologists predict that fully 50 percent of the 7,000 languages spoken around the world today will disappear within our lifetimes. And languages are merely the canaries in the coal mine: what of the knowledge, stories, songs, and ways of seeing encoded in these voices? In The Wayfinders, Wade Davis offers a gripping and enlightening account of this urgent crisis. He leads us on a fascinating tour through a handful of indigenous cultures, describing the worldviews they represent and reminding us of the encroaching danger to humankind's survival should they vanish.


Encyclopedia of the Incas

Encyclopedia of the Incas

Author: Gary Urton

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2015-06-04

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 0759123632

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Inca Empire existed for fewer than 100 years, yet ruled more subjects than either the Aztecs or the Maya and occupied a territory stretching nearly 3000 miles. The Incas left no system of writing; what we know of them has been gleaned from the archaeological record and accounts written following the Spanish invasion. In this A-to-Z encyclopedia, Gary Urton and Adriana von Hagen, together with over thirty contributors, provide a broad introduction to the fascinating civilization of the Incas, including their settlements, culture, society, celebrations, and achievements. Following a broad introduction, 128 individual entries explore wide-ranging themes (religion, architecture, farming) and specific topics (ceremonial drinking cup, astronomy), interweaving ethnohistoric and archaeological research with nuanced interpretation. Each entry provides suggestions for further reading. Sidebars profiling chroniclers and researchers of Inca life—ranging from José de Acosta and Cristóbal de Albornoz to Maria Rostworowski and R. Tom Zuidema—add depth and context for the cultural entries. Cross-references, alphabetical and topical lists of entries, and a thorough index help readers navigate the volume. A chronology, selected bibliography, regional map, and almost ninety illustrations round out the volume. In sum, the Encyclopedia of the Incas provides a unique, comprehensive resource for scholars, as well as the general public, to explore the civilization of the Incas—the largest empire of the pre-Columbian New World.


Lost Paititi & the Non-Human Remains of Nazca

Lost Paititi & the Non-Human Remains of Nazca

Author: Thierry Jamin

Publisher: SCB Distributors

Published: 2020-01-01

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 1948803607

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

French explorer and anthropologist Thierry Jamin relates findings from his years in Peru in search of the lost Inca city of Paititi plus his most recent escapades with non-human skeletons at Nazca on the coast. Chapters include: On the Path of Adventure; On the Tracks of the Lost City of the Incas; Machu Picchu and the Mystery of the Secret Room; The Strange Square Mountain; Where It All Begins; In the Footsteps of “Mario”; Summit Meeting; Strange Relics; The New B.E.; A Mysterious Man in Black; Three Eggs!; The Incredible Hybrid; First Results... and New B.E.; The Lima Conference; The Real False Site; The “Familia”; Analysis and Pressure on All Sides!; The Final Proof; The Starchild; Transfer of the Mummies; The Ica Conference; The Flight Over the Gran Paititi; The Case of Nazca Continues; more. Includes an 8-page color photo section.


Ancient South America

Ancient South America

Author: Karen Olsen Bruhns

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 0521863856

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Ancient South America, 2nd edition is completely revised and updated to reflect archaeological discoveries and insights made in the past three decades. It features the full panorama of the South American past from the first inhabitants to the European invasions.


Rethinking the Andes–Amazonia Divide

Rethinking the Andes–Amazonia Divide

Author: Adrian J. Pearce

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2020-10-21

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 178735735X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Nowhere on Earth is there an ecological transformation so swift and so extreme as between the snow-line of the high Andes and the tropical rainforest of Amazonia. The different disciplines that research the human past in South America have long tended to treat these two great subzones of the continent as self-contained enough to be taken independently of each other. Objections have repeatedly been raised, however, to warn against imagining too sharp a divide between the people and societies of the Andes and Amazonia, when there are also clear indications of significant connections and transitions between them. Rethinking the Andes–Amazonia Divide brings together archaeologists, linguists, geneticists, anthropologists, ethnohistorians and historians to explore both correlations and contrasts in how the various disciplines see the relationship between the Andes and Amazonia, from deepest prehistory up to the European colonial period. The volume emerges from an innovative programme of conferences and symposia conceived explicitly to foster awareness, discussion and co-operation across the divides between disciplines. Underway since 2008, this programme has already yielded major publications on the Andean past, including History and Language in the Andes (2011) and Archaeology and Language in the Andes (2012).


El Dorado: The City Of Gold

El Dorado: The City Of Gold

Author: ANONYMOUS

Publisher: ANONYMOUS

Published:

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Embark on a thrilling adventure through history with El Dorado: The City Of Gold. This captivating book delves into the legendary tales and relentless quests surrounding the mythical city rumored to be overflowing with gold. From the exploits of Spanish conquistadors to the fabled mysteries of the Amazon, each chapter unveils a new layer of intrigue. Discover the lost cities of the Incas, explore the enigmatic stories spun by explorers, and join modern-day treasure hunters in their lifelong search for forgotten fortunes. Alongside these tales, the book examines legendary maps, ancient texts, and dramatic disappearances, weaving a rich tapestry of legend and lore. Venture into this historical narrative and uncover whether the legendary city of gold is myth or reality, setting the stage for endless exploration.


The Inka Empire

The Inka Empire

Author: Izumi Shimada

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2015-06-01

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1477303936

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Massive yet elegantly executed masonry architecture and andenes (agricultural terraces) set against majestic and seemingly boundless Andean landscapes, roads built in defiance of rugged terrains, and fine textiles with orderly geometric designs—all were created within the largest political system in the ancient New World, a system headed, paradoxically, by a single, small minority group without wheeled vehicles, markets, or a writing system, the Inka. For some 130 years (ca. A.D. 1400 to 1533), the Inka ruled over at least eighty-six ethnic groups in an empire that encompassed about 2 million square kilometers, from the northernmost region of the Ecuador–Colombia border to northwest Argentina. The Inka Empire brings together leading international scholars from many complementary disciplines, including human genetics, linguistics, textile and architectural studies, ethnohistory, and archaeology, to present a state-of-the-art, holistic, and in-depth vision of the Inkas. The contributors provide the latest data and understandings of the political, demographic, and linguistic evolution of the Inkas, from the formative era prior to their political ascendancy to their post-conquest transformation. The scholars also offer an updated vision of the unity, diversity, and essence of the material, organizational, and symbolic-ideological features of the Inka Empire. As a whole, The Inka Empire demonstrates the necessity and value of a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates the insights of fields beyond archaeology and ethnohistory. And with essays by scholars from seven countries, it reflects the cosmopolitanism that has characterized Inka studies ever since its beginnings in the nineteenth century.