The Incas, Peru: the Mystery and Legends of a Lost Civilisation

The Incas, Peru: the Mystery and Legends of a Lost Civilisation

Thank you Thank you Perched at 3 400 meters above sea level the Peruvian town of Cusco has a population of more than 300 thousand it’s the oldest inhabited town in the southern American continent once the capital of the Inca Empire Today Cusco is the most important archaeological Center in America Legend has it that the

Town was founded in 11th century by Manco Kapak the fristinka emperor and Mama oklo his sister and wife most of the major monuments state from the time of pakakutek great warrior and architect of the Inca period then came the great Spanish Conquest having destroyed large parts of the town

In 1534 they said about erecting a cathedral in the 16th century foreign construction started in 1559 and lasted almost a century the cathedral is built on the ruins of an Incan Imperial Palace Another powerful symbol of the Catholic Conquest the company of Jesus church likewise the foundations of La compania were built on an ancient Palace that of the Inca Emperor hayana Kapak built by the Jesuits in 1571 with an incredible Baroque facade is an undoubtedly the town’s most remarkable Church The plaza de Almas is the nerve center of Cusco today with its Stone arcades full of cafes and shops and its two prestigious churches the plaza de alna is one of the most beautiful Colonial squares in Peru it is in this square that the people of Cusco gather for all important occasions It was in this square that the severed head of Tupac amaru the last Inca Emperor was displayed in 1572 and that Tupac amaru II first leader of the Indian Revolt was dismembered in 1580. The Temple of Merced the order founded by San Pedro Nolasco in Barcelona in 1218 is the third Colonial Church in Cusco Thank you as well as the temple the Merced owned a monastery which was built in 1535 and then completely rebuilt after the 1650 earthquake Built in Baroque Renaissance style the convent Square Cloister contains a garden where a fountain softly bobbles away Foreign Walking around this little Oasis of calm visitors could admire the collection of paintings from the Cusco school which are permanently displayed here The number of beautiful churches here no doubt helped to convert the peruvians to Christianity Christmas Today 92 percent of peruvians are Catholic although their religious rituals are still strongly influenced by the pre-columbian Cults Of the 30 million inhabitants roughly 45 percent are Indian 15 percent are of European origin and 37 are mixed Le mestizos the two official languages are Spanish and quechua Not far from the main plaza we come to a smaller Square decorated with fountains and quinoa plants which grow well at altitude the square contains boutiques restaurants and two museums this is where the Incas once celebrated their military victories now people come here to stop sit on a

Bench and watch the world go by What remains today of the great pre-columbian civilization which stretched from Peru to Colombia A wealth of treasures for the tourist trade certainly Peru is famous for its abundant cultural heritage with riches dating not only from Inca times but also from the Spanish Colonial period and the era of Independence today tourism is the country’s third largest source of Revenue after the fishing and Mining Industries

The former Inca Capital Cusco meaning Naval is undoubtedly Peru’s most popular tourist destination housed within the richly decorated Palacio del amelante is the Inca museum with its collection of jewels mummies Pottery arms and Inca Fabrics Beneath the patio the Weavers of the Andean Plateau display their talents and transmit their vibrant culture Foreign ERS we passed the former San Antonio Abad church now converted into the hotel monasterio Colonial luxury Further on in the square is the Museum of pre-columbian Art the museum building was once an Inca Palace of which only the ceremonial Courtyard remains in 1580 the house belonged to Conquistador Alonso Diaz and in 1850 to the Conte La Cabrera in 2003 it was fully restored and

Reopened as the Museum of pre-columbian Art The museum houses an impressive collection of pre-conquest archaeological artifacts Dating from 1250 BC to 1532 A.D the objects revealed the artistic and cultural expertise of the ancient Peruvian civilizations from the huaris to the Incas The 11 rooms contain more than 450 references jewels and gold bone and shell wooden sculptures ceramics all of the elements which characterize the art of the pre-columbian cultures They have been selected from the 45 000 objects which belong to the collections of the larco archaeological Museum in Lima Please hutun rumiyok is a cobbled street lined with massive walls made from polygonal Stones halfway down the street is the famous 12 angled Stone a monolith squared off and Polished to fit perfectly into the surrounding stones of the wall without any mortar in fact the 12 angles are by no means

Exceptional the Incan Masons were used to working with stones with even more irregular shapes this Stone was part of the Palace of the inkaroka later transformed into archbishop’s palace and finally the Museum of religious art foreign is made up of two Charming Arab Andalusian patios surrounded by a dozen

Rooms and is decorated with azolejos and a small Chapel Thank you backing onto a steep hill the ancient quarter of totokachi once home to the Inca nobility is one of the most picturesque areas of Cusco it is now known as sandblas The streets here are narrow and steep zigzagging up between white Colonial houses their blue doors shutters and balconies are built into the Inca walls Also known as The Artisans quarter this is where many of the well-known local artists have their shops and Studios the traditional local crafts include weaving on looms pottery and gold jewelry making the best painters from the Cusco School are also based here this has become the Bohemian area of town

A likely area to spot women in traditional dress with their skirts hats and ponchos including of course the famous Peruvian Bonnet the Chulo made with vicuno wool Thank you In the evening this is the place to go to find the latest trendy cafes The colonial church and Monastery of Santo Domingo were built on the ruins of the Inca coricancha quechua for Golden Court the famous Sun Temple today only the basic structure remains of what was once the richest Temple of the Inca Empire at six meters high a curved wall

Surrounds the site it has survived the violent earthquakes which destroyed many of the colonial buildings of Cusco the church itself had to be rebuilt At the entrance to the site are The Cloisters built onto the superstructure of the Inca Temple the octagonal Basin in the center was originally covered with 55 kilos of gold Foreign are the four remaining rooms of the Ancient Temple their sloping walls consist of blocks of stone which despite their complex shapes and sizes have been fitted perfectly without mortar at the time the walls of korikancha were covered with 700 gold leaves each weighing almost two kilos the trapezoid doors and niches are

Typical of the pachacutec architecture of the Incas we believe that the two largest rooms were the temples of the Moon and of Venus and Pleiades their walls were covered with silver Bordering the street are two smaller rooms undoubtedly used for worshiping rainbows and lightning We can still admire the Stellar plaque made of solid gold showing Mother Earth and the Incas thank you before entering the temple people would fast they came Barefoot and carrying a weight on their back as a sign of humility a golden statue represented the sun disk

On which the first rays of the Rising Sun were reflected the most important ceremonies of the Inca sovereigns took place in the sun Temple weddings coronations funerals and this was where the mummies were conserved sat on Golden Thrones everything here was covered with the precious yellow medal symbol of the sun

Even the famous internal Gardens contained golden sheaths of corn and fruits thank you two kilometers from Cusco we find the ruins of a massive military Camp the largest in the area means satisfied Falcon in quechua although the site seems enormous what remains today is only 20 percent of the

Original buildings which housed five thousand Warriors The Fortress has three different zones the most impressive is that which encompasses the Magnificent zigzag fortifications on three levels the ninth Inca pachacutec envisioned Cusco in the shape of a puma and he built saksaewaman as the animal’s head with the 22 zigzag walls representing its teeth

Three towers once Rose above the walls but today only the foundations remain each of these Stones weighs more than 300 tons what techniques they use to transport and build such enormous structures is still a mystery to us bearing in mind that they hadn’t discovered the wheel yet

One of the last battles of the Spanish Conquest took place here it is remembered particularly for the heroic tale of the Inca captain kayode when the Spanish were attacking the tower to which he’d retreated with his men he chose to jump to his death from the tower rather than give himself up Further on moving away from Cusco this extraordinary little set of runes is known as kenko meaning Labyrinth this site was dedicated to Puma the God of War the enormous Stone monolith surrounded by the low wall was when shaped like a puma we think that the site was designed by

Huana kappak to celebrate the birth of his son wascar At the center of the sacrificial complex is the famous Labyrinth carved into the stone In the middle of the tunnel on the right is a natural opening in the Rock through it you can see a stone bench and some steps we think that pachacutec the founder of the site was buried here In the center a natural tunnel leads to an altar where animals were sacrificed to the oracle just off the Cusco pisac Road lie the Runes of the little red Fortress puka pukata named for the pink coloring of its stones largely destroyed by the Spanish this stronghold was probably a Garrison post

Charged with guarding the road between Cusco and the sacred Valley or else it might have been some sort of storage Depot or an inn for travelers or even a hunting lodge for the Inca nobility opinions vary one can but imagine Foreign Towards the sacred Valley the site of Tambo matche consists of three Terraces again built with enormous stone blocks the Incas would stop here to perform certain religious rights at the sacred source which flows through The Terraces the quality of the construction and the Beautiful Finish on the stones indicate

That this was an important cultural site 15 kilometers from Cusco the urumbamba valley stretches out in front of us named El Vale Sagrado the sacred Valley is very fertile and densely populated within the valley is the site of pisac made up of two distinct Parts The Village beside the river and the Inca

Runes perched on a rocky Peak the Inca Citadel Towers over the Village from its triangular Plateau boarded on three sides by steep Gorges this part of pisac kinshirake was undoubtedly a Garrison post a fortified stronghold with battlements which provided refuge for the population in times of attack

On the hillside opposite you can see some excavations dug into the cliff that is the site of a massive Inca symmetry but the tombs were plundered many years ago the residential quarter of Anan pisak is also surrounded by fortifications Pisac is famous for its agricultural Terraces which spread out in elegant curves over the Southern and Eastern slopes of the mountain under the watchful eye of the Runes of the Fortified town the Inca Terraces are still in regular use today We enter Hanan pisak by way of a beautiful Inca gate a fusion of the man-made and the natural Going down a steep staircase we enter the Puma tunnel which has been dug out of the Rock foreign At the top of the site is the ceremonial sector composed of a special Monument the intiwatana several canals still in working order and a number of well-preserved temples at the center of the circular Sun Temple is the intiwatana a sort of sculpted calendar which represented the connection between men and the sun god Thank you around it are a group of smaller stone temples whose walls contain a series of niches which would once have held Idols or other sacred objects A majestic site foreign Valley Salina stamatas is a collection of small bowl-shaped Terraces dug out of the mountainsides by the pre-inka peoples They were and still are used to collect pools of salt water from an underground source which then dries out in the dry season leaving a layer of shining white crystallized salt the salt is harvested with a long rake just like in the salt marshes in Europe the villagers have formed a cooperative

Each family has a plot of two or three Terraces and they sell their Harvest to the commune which exports the salt around the country Seen from Above The Terraces form a magnificent ocher brown and white mosaic Thank you seven kilometers away from the salt pools on the altiplano at 3500 meters above sea level we get a glimpse of how the Inca people not only survived but even flourished in this hostile environment The Terraces of Murray dug out to form this deep Amphitheater are an incredible sight discovered in 1930 the Murray archaeological site is made up of concentric Terraces rising over different levels all cut into a huge clay basin each level appears to have a unique microclimate depending on its depth

Each layer is made up of a Terrace distinctive in its dimensions and layout and the deepest of The Terraces reaches down to 150 meters below the rim the different levels are accessible via an ingenious system of steps integrated into the walls themselves irrigation canals carry water from one

Terrace to the next through gullies dug into the stone walls The Incas use this site as an agronomical laboratory conducting experiments to determine the optimal conditions for each of their agricultural crops the difference is in temperature and humidity between each layer enabled them to test plant growth according to climate and altitude The site is made up of two large and one small basin one of them is still in use today a Living Museum Further along the valley the formidable Fortress of Olan Tai Tambo was an important religious and Military center for the Incas its walls were still under construction at the time of the conquest and were never finished at the top of The Terraces is a ceremonial Temple the stones come from a mine in the

Mountainside six kilometers above the riverbank on the far side of the urumbamba it must have taken thousands of workers to transport these enormous blocks from the mine to the site to carry them across the river they used an ingenious technique placing the stones into the water and

Then diverting the course of the river One of the rare occasions when the Conquistadors lost a major battle was on one of these immense steep Terraces which surround the Inca ruins it was to this Fortress that manko inkaroo threw after the fall of Cusco in 1536 the Conquistador Hernando Pizarro came with cavalrymen and large numbers of Indian

And Spanish infantry to capture the Inca under the Deluge of arrows Spears and Stones which rained down on them from The Terraces above Pizarro’s men were unable to climb up to the Fortress the horses got bogged down in the water on the plane and Pizarro gave the order to

Retreat the men were soon fleeing from thousands of Inca Warriors who had decided to pursue the Conquistadors down the valley Foreign the town of chinchero guards the entrance into the sacred Valley Here daily life rolls on with a tranquil con Today everyone’s getting ready for a party there’s a wedding happening in the village Foreign Peru is full of traditional crafts their primary specialty is weaving a paco wool they make ponchos carpets and belts with a typical Peruvian bright colors and motifs the chunchero Indians group together into associations work with a llama wool which they wash with tree roots they die the balls of wool by soaking

Them in vegetable or cochineal dyes next comes the long process of hand weaving though here one doesn’t get the impression that time is a great worry hooked on the foundations of an Inca Temple the late 16th century colonial church has a lovely Portico and square Bell Tower on the external pediment our frescoes

Depicting on one side good indigenous evangelism and on the other evil Tupac amaru’s Revolution the chinchero market takes place on the plaza de armas at the foot of the richinto an enormous Inca wall with 10 trapezoid niches Here too The Terraces were used by the Incas to produce the corn needed for the ceremonial beer but they also grew potatoes quinoa broad beans green beans tomatoes cocoa coffee and avocados at that time most of these fruits and vegetables were still unheard of in the West And of course there’s also a temple small but Monumental for worshiping the Gods but time now for the truly spectacular Happy birthday All visitors to Machu Picchu have to pass through Aguas Calientes also known as the village of Machu Picchu this is the last stop on the train from Cusco This small Mountain Village has sulfurous water sources where people came to prepare themselves for their trip to the sacred site Thanks to its spectacular even mystical location Machu Picchu meaning old mountain or old bird is undoubtedly the most famous archaeological site on the American continent thanks to its remote location it was never found by the Spanish conquistadors and Leia discovered until the early 20th century in 1911 American historian Hiram Bingham

Discovered the abandoned site by chance when he was visiting the local area despite years of studies and recent Works our knowledge of Machu Picchu continues to be largely superficial proven today archaeologists are still forced to rely on hypotheses and speculations about its probable function but one thing is certain given the

Exceptional stonework and the wealth of ornaments is that Machu Picchu must have been an important ceremonial site of pilgrimage as well as an Imperial City on the site more than 170 buildings have been discovered giving us an idea of the Sumptuous epic of the Inca pachacutec a sacred Rock seven meters wide and

Three meters tall crafted in the image of the mountain behind it and dedicated to the mountain spirit in the industrial area we find mortars which would have been used to grind the corn this area was probably devoted to domestic activities and Craftsmen further on the prison area is made up of

A Labyrinth of cells niches and passages some of which are underground Here again the Precision and the enormous work involved in transporting and adjusting the stone leaves archaeologists baffled it doesn’t help that the Incas had no form of writing and therefore left no written records of the work it remains a mystery When the American Explorer arrived on the site in 1911 his guide was a ten-year-old child together they climbed up the Inca Terraces and arrived at the walls of Machu Picchu the tropical vegetation had almost entirely covered the ruins but the city had been well preserved Bingham wrote astounded

It was difficult to see the walls because the stones had been covered for Centuries by trees and Moss but in amongst the shrubs and plants some of the walls were visible made of blocks of granite shaped with Incredible precision I saw temples Royal residencies a grand palace it was like a dream

The only piece of circular architecture on the site of Machu Picchu is the sun Temple this Tower was probably used to study the stars under it is a natural cave which was probably a royal tomb it contains an altar in the form of a staircase and some beautifully crafted sacred niches

The Incas were certainly the world’s greatest experts in lithic architecture Outside The Condor Temple for example contains a sculpture of a condor head placed in front of two rocks which represent his Open Wings in Inca culture the Condor symbolized punishment this rock was undoubtedly a place of sacrifice animal or human no one knows The Incas only practiced human sacrifice in times of great trouble when the Inca was Ill or died for example or when they faced major natural disasters their objective was to appease the Gods the men women or children they sacrificed were taken from the occupied provinces they were always in good

Health and of great physical Beauty before the sacrifice The Chosen child was given beer and Coca to drink in order to deaden the senses in honor of the child the priests would carry out ritual ceremonies so as to accompany his Spirit on its Journey The main Temple and the high priest’s house stand on either side of the Sacred Square giving us an idea of the power of religion in Incan culture The deteriorated state of the back right hand side of the temple reminds us that this site is in the middle of a seismic Zone a fact which causes some concern for the future of tourism in Machu Picchu the intiwatana is the city’s highest point and its most mysterious

This is the final destination the reason for traveling here to the ends of the Earth the quechua word in tiwatana which can be roughly translated as Mooring point of the sun refers to the pillars sculpted in the rock the Incan astronomers use the faces of the pillar to predict the solstices and

So organize the agricultural calendar around the return of the long summer days Foreign Ty sacred immaterial are intimately linked the Earth’s nourishment is a gift from the Sun God for the Incas this was very clear astronomy and even the Divine played their part in optimizing agricultural production in order to nourish the population in the agricultural quarter magnificent Terraces lined the steep slopes of the mountain

The house is built for the Guardians are made with small stones bound with dried mud which tells us that they probably also served as granaries and storehouses the thousands of steps connecting The Terraces have withstood the test of time relatively well given the high quantity of sunshine on

These slopes they probably managed two harvests per year at the top is the Hut of the guardian of the funerary Rock one of the few buildings to have been restored this building served as a guard post controlling the entrance to the Citadel as it served as a lookout it provides a

Magnificent view over the whole side of Machu Picchu Within Inca culture one cannot deny the importance of Lake Titicaca it was the birthplace of the Dynasty and some rumors claim that the famous Inca treasure El Dorado is buried in its depths so completing history’s endless cycle puno is the largest port on the lake with a population of one hundred

Thousand puno is considered to be the capital of the Peruvian tradition In the Town Center Jeron Lima is a bustling pedestrian street lined with craft stalls and small restaurants where you can order the famous trout fresh from the lake Lake Titicaca connects Peru to Bolivia it is a vital link for transandian Commerce and puno’s Marketplace is packed with merchandise awaiting export

Puno is a lively town The town’s Baroque style cathedral was built by the Jesuits in the 18th century but it also maintained some of the Tranquility of the Old Colonial towns the town is a fascinating mixture combining its Incan ancestry with that of the Catholic conquistadors a fusion of two cultures thank you Further on La Casa de caregidar is a beautiful 17th century colonial house which has undergone several modifications it originally belonged to the municipal representative of the crown Sylvester de Valdes having changed ownership a number of times the house was eventually transformed into delightful Cultural Center The yavaris the oldest functioning Steamboat in the world built in 1862 in England it was transported to the shores of Titicaca and parts carried by mules During almost a century the yavari together with a fleet of similar steamboats transported passengers and merchandise across the lake between the Peruvian and the Bolivian Shores foreign Part of the mineral exports from Bolivia were transported by the steamboats of Titicaca these boats continued to transport merchandise and passengers across the lake right up until 1982 reinforcing the importance of puno as an international Port Zone today thanks largely to the work of one voluntary Association the ship has been

Restored and an exhibition on the history of Lake navigation is on display in its cabins The port of puno is the departure point for tours to the islands and the archaeological sites around the lake Foreign At the junction of the Andes and the pastures of the Peruvian altiplano the frill shores of Lake Titicaca were once the Cradle of ancient civilizations Legend has it that the first Inca manka Kapak son of the sun god inti emerged from the Waters of Titicaca having emerged from the lake menkokapak

Went North with his tribe and his ferocious Warriors and founded Cusco the future capital of the empire Lake Titicaca is more than 200 kilometers long and 65 kilometers wide making it the largest lake in South America at 3 812 meters above sea level the lake is the highest navigable lake in the

World which has a regular passenger service it has an average depth of 107 meters and there are more than 25 Rivers feeding into the lake there are 41 Islands within the lake of which some are inhabited This is a civilization based on reeds in addition to the traditional boats many of the houses and even certain islands are made from reeds These islands originally inhabited by the udos people who died out in the mid-20th century are still commonly known as the uros islands though it appears simple crafting the weeds is a complex skill passed down through countless Generations Peru’s famous floating islands are made with the light Reeds known as totora which

Grown abundance in the shallow Waters of this part of Lake Titicaca each island is made of several layers of Totara and layers are constantly added at surface level to replace the rotting under layers in this way the ground stays Supple and dry In the past the inhabitants here made a basic living from fishing farming ducks and selling eggs at the markets Hmm tequila is a small natural Island about six square kilometers two or three hours by boat to the east of puno Inhabited for thousands of years it currently has a population of about two thousand run as a prison during the colonial era today takile belongs to its inhabitants who live according to the Inca law do not steal do not lie and do not be lazy free from cars and motorbikes the

Island’s hilly landscape is a picture of calm the Deep Oquirrh hillsides stand out in Vivid contrast against the intense blue of the lake and sky and the green agricultural Terraces in the distance we can make out the Snowy Peaks of the cordiera real in Bolivia here once again the hillsides are

Covered with Incan Terraces and topped with ancient runes tequila seems to be in its own world cut off from the rest of the planet and visitors are mesmerized by the Island’s quiet calm soothed by the intense almost Mediterranean sunlight The population speaks quechua unlike most of the other Island communities who tend to speak imara Avoid marriages outside of the community and are fiercely protective of their identity preserving their way of life from the modern influences of the continent the island is known throughout the world for its unique textiles made with traditional artisanal techniques here men women and children all take part in the spinning weaving and knitting One of the Islanders defining characteristics is their clothing their outfits are an amalgamation of old Spanish peasant dress and traditional Andean colors and motifs the women wear the polera a skirt made of many layers and a black shawl with embroidered edges as for the men they wear embroidered

Belts over coarse white shirts and thick black cap length trousers which makes them look a bit like Pirates It is time now to return to the boat and to remember that this Great Lake Titicaca was the birthplace of one of Humanity’s greatest civilizations the Incas that Manco Capac and Mama oklo Children Of The Sun God brother and sister man and wife were born from The Mists of the

Lake charged with bringing men to civilization after the great flood and founding the capital of the future Empire in some fertile land that the capital was to be built in the place where manko kappak’s sacred cross planted itself in the ground The Chosen land of the valley of Cusco that Manco

Capac gave to man The Art of Agriculture and of craft and that mama oklo taught the woman to weave and thus they gave to mankind the gift of civilization Thank you Foreign Foreign

The Incas did not leave any written word.

The only testimony comes from the first conquistadores who collected the natives’ tales. Successors, among others, to brilliant civilisations preceding them, the Incas were originally a small tribe from the Quechua region on the bank of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia.

They are part of a confederation of several groups, occupying at first a subordinate rank.

The confederation relied on two clans, the Hanan detaining political power, and the Hurin, the military power of which the Incas were part of. This shared power explains the Inca group’s rise to power by force.

It is only in during the mid-14th century that the Incas create a state bearing their name. Cuzco was the Inca capital for a long time, being the crossroads of the trans-Andean economical axis. It died down when economical activity turned towards Lima.

Machu Pichu is the ancient Inca city, dating back to the 15th century, perched on a rocky headland on the eastern central Andes.

Listed since 1983 on the UNESCO’s world heritage sites, it is also one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Looking at the Incas’ daily lives, their rites and religious cults, we will explore the mystery and legends of this lost civilisation.

Why human sacrifices, why gold is the Inca’s symbolic metal, why worship the Sun? In this documentary we will attempt to solve these questions, with the help of experts on Latin America: Jean-Francois Bouchard, Patrice Lecoq and Carmen Bernand.

Directed by Jacques VICHET