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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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A Chasqui roadrunner playing his pututu. Source: Public domain

Inca Chasqui Relay Roadrunners Revolutionized Communication

In an era devoid of the internet and telephone, the ancient Inca—reigning from the 15th to 16th centuries—turned to the Chasqui runners to provide direct communication. Operating in the Andean...
Stone blocks discovered at the Inca quarry at Cañete, Peru.    Source: PQN/ Peru Ministry of Culture

Lost Inca Road Network and Stone Quarries Uncovered in Peru

In the province of Cañete, Peru, archaeologists have unearthed Inca stone quarries and a previously unknown road network at Cerros de Quilmaná and Cerro Quinta Freno. These quarries played a crucial...
Excavations of a group burial complex of the Wari empire. Source: ed. M. Giersz, © PUCP Archaeology Program “Valley of Pachacámac”/ CC BY-SA 4.0; Center & Right: © M.Giersz, ed. K. Kowalewski/ CC BY-SA 4.0

Wari-Mask Mummies And Carved Totems Dating Back to 800-1000 AD Found in Peru

A recent discovery at Pachacámac in Peru has revealed a significant find of seventy-three intact burials, in funerary bundles known as ‘fardos’. The burials are of both genders, with some adorned...
It is believed the Inca maiden died peacefully. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Smithsonian Channel.

How Do We Know This Inca Mummy Died Peacefully? (Video)

The Inca mummy known as the Maiden has long been a mystery shrouded in the high-altitude silence of the Andes. The question that has haunted many revolves around how she met her end. There are...
This sacrificed Inca child, known as the Llull Maiden #23, was found on a mountain in Argentina a number of years ago and shares similarities with the sacrificed child Inca mummies found on Ampato volcano, Peru. Source: © Johan Reinhard, Ph.D . (used with permission)

Is the Inca Maiden the World's Best-Preserved Mummy? (Video)

The Inca Ice Maiden , an incredible find from the Andean mountains of South America in 1999 has astonished the world since her discovery. An archaeological excavation led by Dr. Johan Reinhard...
Left; The 500-year-old Inca child mummy before unwrapping her body. Right; the reconstruction of Juanita the Inca Ice Maiden by Oscar Nilsson.

Teenage Mummy the Inca Ice Maiden ‘Brought Back to Life’

‘Juanita’, Peru’s most famous mummy, an Inca girl sacrificed in a ritual on an Andean hill 500 years ago, has had her face reconstructed in the form of a silicone-made bust. Also known as the ‘Inca...
Peruvian Quipu. Source: YouTube Screenshot / The New York Times.

Quipu: An Enigmatic Communication System of Ancient Peru (Video)

In the remote highlands of Peru lies a unique community, San Cristobal de la Paz, where the ancient Inca language, Quechua , still resonates at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Here, amidst the rugged...
Representational image of a mummy found in Peru. Source: Matthias Kestel / Adobe Stock.

1,000-Year-Old Long-Haired Mummy Unearthed in Peru

In the heart of Miraflores, a part of Lima’s bustling city center, the well-preserved Huaca Pucllana ceremonial center site has yielded the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy, dated to the beginning...
Mamaconas or nun’s enclosure at Pachacamac ( Caio/ Adobe Stock)

Revisiting The Oracle Of Pachacamac In Peru

Since ancient times, ubiquitous to various cultures, humankind has sought to overcome that which they cannot control, such as healing mysterious afflictions and trying to predict the veiled future,...
Head and shoulders of an Egyptian mummy, the best-known of mummification methods.        Source: Andrea Izzotti/Adobe Stock

7 Fascinating Ways Ancient Cultures Mummified Their Dead

Mummies have long captured the imagination of people all over the world. These preserved remains offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives, beliefs, and traditions of ancient cultures. From the...
Renata Flores sings in Quechua to save an ancient language. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Great Big Story.

Quechua: Saving an Ancient Language Through Pop Music (Video)

Renata Flores, the 16-year-old musical prodigy hailing from Peru, has emerged as a beacon of hope for a language on the brink of fading into oblivion. Amidst the shadows of discrimination and...
Portrait of Peruvian girl, representative of descendants of the Inca. Source: Jose Luis Stephens/

DNA Study Unveils Machu Picchu Servants' Enigmatic Diversity

Most ancient DNA studies focus on societal elites found in elaborate tombs. But new research on DNA gathered from the bones of servants who worked for Inca royals at Machu Picchu reveals a diverse...
Inca woman crossing the Q'eswachaka rope bridge. Source: Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock.

Preserving the World’s Last Inca Rope Bridge (Video)

Every year in June, Peruvian communities nestled within the Cusco region, once the capital of the mighty Inca Empire , come together in a remarkable display of cultural preservation and unity. Their...
Dance platform at a modern but traditional Inti Raymi celebration. Early Andeans created a dance floor to imitate the sound of thunder when danced on. Source: Youenn JACQUIN/Adobe Stock

Ancient Andean Thundering Dance Floor Uncovered in Peru

An open-air “sounding” dance floor in Peru has been discovered, designed to mimic a drum-like sound, perhaps for a thunder god when stomped upon! Built sometime between 1000 and 1400 AD, the site...
Shrine at Naupa Iglesia. 	Source: © Freddy Silva

Naupa Iglesia: An Egyptian Portal in the Andes?

Halfway up a near-vertical ravine in the Andes, someone carved an inverted V-shaped entrance into the mountainside. Then they sliced the bedrock with great precision to create a shallow door that...
This sacrificed Inca child, known as the Llull Maiden #23, was found on a mountain in Argentina. Source: © Johan Reinhard, Ph.D . (used with permission)

Inca Child Sacrifice: Secrets of the Mummified Maiden (Video)

The ancient practice of human sacrifice is one of the most haunting and mysterious aspects of human history. Most of us today find the idea abhorrent , but in many cultures around the world, they...
A child mummy found at high-altitude in the Andes. Source: Jason Quinn / CC by SA 3.0

High-Altitude Wonders: Frozen Child Mummies of the Andes (Video)

The Andes Mountains in South America have been home to ancient civilizations for thousands of years. High-altitude archaeology has played a crucial role in uncovering their fascinating history. One...
Inca quipu. Source: Claus Ableiter / GNU Free Documentation License.

Unraveling the Mystery of the Inca's Knotted Strings (Video)

The Inca Empire left behind many mysteries that continue to intrigue and captivate historians and archaeologists today. One of these mysteries is the Quipu , a unique way of communicating and keeping...
The circular monument discovered in Waskiri, Bolivia. Credit: Antiquity.

Ritual Site Connected to Ancient Andean Cults Discovered in Bolivia

Archaeologists in Bolivia have discovered 135 ancient hilltop sites including an enormous circular structure where they say members of ancient Andean cults would have once worshipped the sun. The...
Woman crossing the Queshuachaca Inca rope bridge near Huinchiri in Peru. Source: Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

Dizzying Inca Rope Bridges Were Grass-Made Marvels of Engineering

Spanish conquistadors couldn't believe their eyes while exploring the rugged terrain of the Andes during their invasion of Peru. On entering Inca territory in the 16th century, they were bowled over...
The door of Hayu Marca located in Puno Peru. Source: DavidAlexander / Adobe Stock

Unraveling the Enigma of Aramu Muru, The Mysterious Gate of the Gods

In 1996, Jose Luis Delgado Mamani, a local tour guide in Peru, discovered an ancient archaeological site carved into Hayu Marca Mountain near Lake Titicaca, in the Andes Mountains of Peru, near the...
Image depicting the Inka tunic or Unku found in northern Chile from the wearer’s point of view. Source: Correa-Lau, J., et. al. / CC BY 4.0

Chilean Inka Tunic Provides Insight into Inka Power & Cultural Fusion

A brilliant new study on unkus , a type of standardized Inka tunic, has shed light on a rather important matter of socio-political organization – that of centralization of power. Based on the unku...
The supposed giants ring, with condor decoration. Source: Courtesy of Celso García Vargas / Author supplied

An Extraordinary Discovery: A Giant’s Ring of the Inca Era?

A long time before the Inka reigned, there were in those parts men in the manner of giants, as grown as they showed the figures that were sculpted in the stones. Pedro de Cieza de León Crónica de...
This capacocha victim, a boy recovered from Cerro El Plomo in 1954, was the first finding of its kind to be the subject of scientific studies. Pictured with excavated grave goods: a female silver statuette, gold llamas and spondylus shell, a chuspa stuffed with coca leaves, scrotum and animal intestine bags with clippings of nails, hair and teeth, and a silver bracelet. Source: Jisa39 / CC BY SA 4.0

Capacocha: Ritualized Child Sacrifice in the Inca Empire

The Inca were an impressive people. From the 1400s to 1532, they created an empire so large it spread from modern Ecuador to central Chile. Master builders that rivaled the ancient Egyptians, their...

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