Andean civilizations

Andean civilizations refer to the human societies that lived in the Andes Mountain region of South America from prehistoric times until the fall of the Incan Empire. Archaeological evidence suggests the first humans arrived in South America more than fourteen thousand years ago, while the earliest organized societies formed about five thousand years ago. Over several millennia, a number of civilizations rose and fell in the region. Among them were the peaceful Caral, the oldest civilization in the Western Hemisphere; the Nazca, who created large, mysterious lined drawings in the Peruvian desert; and the Incas, founders of a wealthy and powerful civilization that ruled much of the region until it was overwhelmed by Spanish invaders in the sixteenth century.

Background

The Andes Mountain range stretches for more than 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) along the western coast of South America. The range begins in Venezuela and runs through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina before ending in southern Chile. Its highest peak is Argentina's Mount Aconcagua at 22,841 feet (6,962 meters)—the tallest mountain found outside of Asia.

The range has a great effect on the region's climate, which varies widely from tropical rainforests to barren deserts. Warm, moist air interacting with the cold air at higher elevations creates tropical environments in Colombia, while Peru and Ecuador feature both a tropical and desert climate and high-altitude plains. Bolivia's climate tends to be drier to the west of the Andes and wetter to the east. The same holds true of northern Chile and Argentina, while in their southern regions the situation is reversed, with temperate, rainy areas west of the mountains and drier regions to the east. Northern Chile's Atacama Desert is one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth, with average daytime temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). It is also the planet's driest desert, with an average rainfall of about one millimeter per year. Some locations have received no rainfall since meteorological records have been kept.

Overview

Humans are believed to have traveled into the Western Hemisphere over a land bridge connecting modern-day Alaska and Russian Siberia. The exact timeframe is disputed, with estimates placing the start of the migrations anywhere between 13,500 and 23,000 years ago. It was believed that humans fanned out across the landmass and into South America about 14,000 years ago; however, archeologists working at Monte Verde in southern Chile have discovered evidence that may push that date back even further. Stone tools, signs of ancient campfires, and animal bones found at the site suggest humans inhabited the Andes region between 14,500 and 18,500 years ago.

These early inhabitants of the region were hunter-gatherers who lived a nomadic existence in search of food. They most likely traveled to Monte Verde from the coastal areas or from beyond the Andes. Over time, they began building huts and settling in one area for longer periods. The gradual shift from hunter-gatherer cultures to agricultural-based communities is known as the Neolithic Revolution, and it occurred between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago. The first human civilizations arose near the end of this period and developed in several regions across the world at about the same time.

The Caral Civilization

The first civilization in either North or South America was the Caral civilization, a society believed to have developed in the coastal region of north-central Peru about 3000 BCE. The civilization, also called the Norte Chico civilization, gets its name from its main complex of Caral-Supe. Caral-Supe was a 150-acre site that included homes, circular plazas, temples, and several pyramid-like structures, the largest of which was more than 60 feet (18.3 meters) tall. The site, one of eighteen found in the region, was home to about three thousand people at its height. Its urban layout of a central plaza and temples surrounded by dwellings was copied by the civilizations that came after it.

The Caral seemed to be a peaceful people, as no evidence of warfare has been found at any of their ancient sites. Archeologists also have not discovered any ceramic pottery at the sites, hinting that the people may not have stored agricultural products and instead relied on food from the sea for much of their diet. The civilization had no system of writing but did make musical instruments out of bird and animal bones. The Caral were the first to develop the quipu, a system of knotted strings used as a record-keeping tool in the Andes region for thousands of years.

Chavín Civilization

After the Caral civilization disappeared around 1800 BCE, it would be almost a millennium before another society developed in the region. The Chavín civilization, named for its ancient temple complex at Chavín de Huantar in the central highlands of Peru, emerged around 900 BCE. The Chavín were the first Andean civilization to domesticate the llama and developed an early form of trading economy. They grew corn and quinoa in the lowland valleys and potatoes in the higher mountain elevations, developing a sophisticated irrigation system to water the crops.

The Chavín civilization was the first in the region to develop a distinctive style of artwork. Chavín sculptures, carvings, and pottery often included images of jaguars, eagles, snakes, and ferocious supernatural beings. A nearly 15-foot (4.5-meter) granite monument—named the Lanzón centuries later by the Spanish—was discovered at the temple complex at Chavín de Huantar. The Lanzón depicts a clawed, fanged being covered in snakes that represents the main deity of the Chavín. Its location near another stone obelisk suggests it may have been used as an astronomical guidepost.

Archeologists theorize their culture was primarily based around a religious hierarchy with the great temple of Chavín de Huantar considered a main pilgrimage site. Like the Caral, the Chavín did not seem to have made any weapons, and their settlements showed no sign of defensive fortifications. Around 200 BCE, the Chavín civilization began to decline, possibly due to environmental conditions or an earthquake.

Nazca Civilization

The Nazca civilization developed in the dry regions of southern Peru around 200 BCE. Despite their harsh environment, the Nazca developed a farm-based economy and irrigated their crops with a system of underground canals and aqueducts. From its origin in the Nazca Valley, the civilization spread north to Peru's Pisco Valley and south to the Acari Valley. At its height, it had a population of about twenty-five thousand. Nazca society consisted of a collection of organized chiefdoms with a main urban capital in the city of Ventilla and a religious center in Cahuachi.

Nazca artwork stands out for its distinctive textiles and pottery. The Nazca wove alpaca wool into elaborate ponchos, shirts, and headbands and dyed cotton fabric with bright, colorful images. Their ornamental pottery was adorned with pictures of people, animals, and mythical creatures that often carried a religious meaning. Undoubtedly, the most well-known aspect of Nazca culture was the famous lined drawings they created on the desert plains of Peru. The lines, called geoglyphs, take on several forms—there are more than eight hundred straight lines that run for great distances, some as long as 30 miles (48 kilometers), and there are about three hundred geometric figures and seventy animal and plant figures. Animal geoglyphs—such as a giant hummingbird, spider, or monkey—can reach up to 1,200 feet (365 meters) in length. The purpose of the lines is unknown, with theories suggesting their possible use in religious rituals or as markers pointing the way to find water. Archaeologists believe it was a lack of water caused by a crippling drought that led to the decline of the Nazca in the sixth century CE. They were eventually conquered by the neighboring Wari people around 600 CE.

Moche Civilization

The Moche civilization, also called the Mochica, emerged about 100 CE between the Chicama and Trujillo Valleys of northern Peru. The civilization was a confederacy of chiefdoms with a common language separated into two regional dialects. It received its name from its capital city, Moche, a large urban center at the base of the mountains. Moche consisted of urban dwellings, storehouses, plazas, and workshops built around two massive multilevel pyramids. When it was built around 450 CE, the largest pyramid—Huaca del Sol, or Pyramid of the Sun—stood about 164 feet (50 meters) tall and was constructed with more than 140 million bricks. The smaller Huaca de la Luna, or Pyramid of the Moon, was built with more than 50 million bricks. The pyramids were thought to be used for religious rituals—some of which included human sacrifices—and may have doubled as tombs for prominent leaders or nobles.

The Moche art and religion show many aspects adopted from the Chavín culture. The Moche sky god, Al Paec, was believed to live in the mountains and was depicted as a vicious fanged creature with a jaguar headdress and snake earrings. The supreme deity of the Moche was the moon goddess Si, who controlled the seasons and was responsible for the harvest. Images in paintings and pottery also included fanged jaguar figures as well as snakes, owls, and fish. The Moche nobility wore elaborate jewelry made out of gold, silver, and turquoise. Pottery often portrayed scenes from everyday life, such as doctors administering to patients or women weaving clothing. Other designs depicted religious rituals, tales from mythology, or told stories of battle and captured enemies. The Moche civilization ended around 800 CE, though archaeologists are unsure about the cause of its demise. Some suspect a combination of internal warfare and the effects of drought.

Inca Civilization

The largest and best-known Andean civilization was the Incas, who built a powerful empire in the region that flourished for just more than a century. The Incans may have been descended from the Tiwanaku people, who formed an empire near the shores of Lake Titicaca in the mountains of modern-day Bolivia and Peru. The first Incan ruler was said to be Manco Capac, who migrated to the Cusco Valley about 1100 and built the capital city of Cusco. For several centuries, the Inca expanded their territory, and they had established an empire that stretched from southern Colombia to central Chile by 1425. The Incas called their empire Tahuantinsuyu, or Land of the Four Quarters. The Incas controlled an area of about 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) along the Andes range and ruled over a population of twelve million people.

Through conquest and assimilation, the Incan empire came to include more than one hundred ethnic groups. Towns and villages were linked by a roughly 15,000-mile (24,140-kilometer) system of roadways spread out across the empire. The Incas had no written language but developed a common dialect called Quechua that is still spoken in the region. The Incas were an agricultural people who grew corn, potatoes, and squash and raised llamas and alpacas for food. Rulers instituted a taxation system that was paid in crops and a communal system of public labor called mit'a.

Incan religion was based on the beliefs of previous cultures, most notably the Wari and Tiwanaku peoples. The Incan creator god was named Viracocha, and their rain god was Apu Illapu, but the most important deity in their spiritual pantheon was the sun god Inti. In some myths, it was Inti who brought the Incan people into the world; he was honored across the empire with numerous sacred shrines and a 1,200-foot (366-meter) wide sun temple in Cusco. Incan artwork used many of the same elements as past civilizations but far exceeded its predecessors in craftsmanship. Copper, gold, and silver were used to create works for the nobility, while different pottery and textile styles developed in the various regions of the empire.

The Incan empire was still in the process of expanding in the early sixteenth century when Spanish forces landed in South America. Even before the Spanish made contact with the Incas, diseases inadvertently carried by the Europeans had begun to decimate the empire. When the emperor fell victim to the plague around 1525, it ignited a civil war that left the empire divided. The Spanish took advantage of the instability and destroyed Cusco in 1533. The last Incan stronghold, the village of Vilcabamba in Peru, was captured by the Spanish in 1572, effectively marking the end of the Incan civilization.

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