The Inca Empire in South America, one of the most powerful pre-Columbian societies, was known for many innovations — such as the architecture of Machu Picchu, an extensive road network, and a system ...

The snake on this Wari vessel (800-1000 AD) represented a sacred animal symbolically linked with water and fertility. Ernest Amoroso, NMAI/SI A belt (ca. 1450) made from the shell of a mollusk ...

While the world-famous Inca Trail is undoutedly Peru’s headline hike, the Quarry Trail is a less-crowded alternative that’s ...

While the ancient Egyptians may be the best-known mummy makers, they were far from the first. A very sophisticated fishing tribe called the Chinchoros, who lived on the north coast of what is now ...

"Land of the Four Quarters" or Tahuantinsuyu is the name the Inca gave to their empire. It stretched north to south some 2,500 miles along the high mountainous Andean range from Colombia to Chile and ...

Bursting with ancient mysteries and rugged Andean culture, the Inca Trail is an unforgettable hike to experience in Peru. Once the main passageway for the Inca to enter Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail is ...

The Inca Empire in South America was one of the most powerful pre-Columbian societies. It was known for the architecture of Machu Picchu, an extensive road network and a system of terraces for ...

Nearly 500 years after the collapse of the largest empire in the Americas, a single bridge remains from the Inca's extraordinary road system – and it's rewoven every year from grass. "I believe since ...

Hiram Bingham called Machu Picchu “the most important ruin discovered in South America since the Spanish conquest.” Ivan Kashinsky and Karla Gachet The last stretch of road that the emperor of the ...

One look at recent images released by the European Space Agency may cause you to wonder if spiders are on the cusp of bursting forth onto the Martian surface. But arachnophobes have nothing to fear, ...

Do long-dead builders have the answer to more sustainable road development? A new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC shows why the Incan kingdom built a lasting infrastructure.