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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Incan

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...
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...
Gold Inca mask. Source: Carlos Santa Maria / Adobe Stock

12 Absolutely Amazing Artifacts of the Inca

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. From their capital, Cuzco, in the central Peruvian Andes, the empire stretched over 2,400 miles (3860 kilometers) along the length of...
Main: Amazon jungle in Peru. Source: Christian / Adobe Stock. Inset: A close-up of one of the engravings on the Peruvian monolith. Source: Daniel Fernandez-Davila / Exact Metrology.

2000-Year-Old Monolith Reveals Hidden Symbols in Amazon

A 2000-year-old jungle monolith decorated with circles, spirals and feline fangs has been 3D scanned in its remote Peruvian location. Situated in a remote jungle valley in northern Peru, the carved...
The wooden statue of the Pachacamac idol.  Source: (Sepúlveda M, Pozzi-Escot D, Angeles Falcón R, Bermeo N, Lebon M, Moulhérat C, et al. (2020)/ PlosOne)/ Museo de sitio Pachacamac

Ancient ‘Inca’ Pachacamac Idol Whispers Secrets of Wari Past

An ancient and deeply spiritualized wooden idol of the Andean ‘Earth Maker’, Pachacamac ( Quechua: Pachakamaq ), was once worshiped at the Temple of the Sun; a 30,000-square-meter step pyramid at the...
The mummy Ñusta. Credit: Michigan State University

8-Year-Old ‘Princess’ Mummy Finally Laid to Rest in Her Home Bolivia

An incredibly well-preserved and rare young female mummy is finally being returned from North America to her rightful home in Bolivia . 129 years after being donated to the Michigan State University...
Inca in a religious event. The Inca civilization is accredited with the first peanut paste.

Who Invented Peanut Butter? Origins of the Tasty Sandwich Spread

Peanut butter is a popular type of food commonly used as a spread, though it may also be used as an ingredient in various recipes. As many already know, peanut butter is made from ground dry roasted...
Llullaillaco boy’s mummy in Salta Province, Argentina.

Cocaine Laden Mummified Children Vindicate Football Champion

The coca plant is native to western South America and is grown in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and the chewing of coca with lime in rituals and to relieve altitude sickness, goes...
More ancient skulls bearing evidence of trepanation - a tell-tale hole surgically cut into the cranium - have been found in Peru than the combined number found in the rest of the world.

Ancient Peru's Cranial Surgeons Were Twice as Skilled as American Civil War Doctors

Even with a highly skilled neurosurgeon, the most effective anesthesia, and all the other advances of modern medicine, most of us would cringe at the thought of undergoing cranial surgery today...
Lake Titicaca and Floating Island in Peru

Lake Titicaca: The Cauldron of Incan Creationism

Lake Titicaca has long been the center of various socio-political cultures in South America. The lake has seen many cultures along its shores, such as the Pucará (400BC-100AD) and the Tiwanaku (200BC...
Colonial image of Manco Cápac and the Sun God, Inti. (Public Domain),Koricancha (Author Provided)

God’s Gate and the Sun Temple: A Mysterious Incan Portal Leading to Other Worlds

Peru has a rich and mysterious history. With extant indigenous groups such as the Uros, Quechua, Aymara, and the Jivaro, which are known for their head-shrinking techniques, and historical...
Chullpas, Sillustani, Peru

Were the Ancient Funerary Towers of Sillustani Peru Originally Part of an Energy System?

Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo, about an hour’s drive from Puno in Peru, which is a large city on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The tombs, which are built above...
A masked woman leads a procession as part of the ceremony of Pawkar Raymi.

Andean Village comes alive with Pawkar Raymi, Equinox Celebration to honor Mother Earth

On March 21, residents of three indigenous communities in Saraguro, a remote Andean municipality in Ecuador, celebrated the Pawkar Raymi (ceremony of blossoming) to honor the Pachamama (Mother Earth...
Qhapaq Nan - Incas

Qhapaq Nan, the Grand Route of the Incas, expected to get World Heritage Status

An ancient Inca trail is among the list of sites expected to get World Heritage status at a two-week UNESCO meeting currently being held in Doha. The listing of the Qhapaq Nan – a huge network of...
Section of Inca road leading to Machu Picchu

New section of Inca road leading to Machu Picchu discovered

A team of archaeologists have just announced their discovery of a new section of Inca Road in Peru which leads directly to the world famous ancient site of Machu Picchu, according to a report in Peru...
Tomb in Peru

Archaeologists discover tomb of ancient Peruvian culture

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered a tomb containing multiple burials belonging to the Chimú culture in the Samanco archaeological complex, a small urban trading town located in the lower Nepeña...
Wari Culture

Pre-Incan Culture Didn’t Rule by Pillage, Plunder and Conquest

The Wari (Spanish: Huari) civilization flourished from about 600-1000 AD in the Andean highlands and forged a complex society widely regarded today as ancient Peru’s first empire. Their Andean...
Lake Titicaca Bolivia Artefacts

Archaeologists in Bolivia find 1,500-year-old treasures

Archaeologists have discovered around 2,000 gold and silver pieces as well as bones and pottery at the bottom of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The objects come from different eras, both Inca and pre-Inca...