The Pre-Hispanic Andean world

The Andean region stretches along the Andes mountains from southern present-day Colombia to central Chile. It encompasses three distinct zones: the coast, the sierra, and a small portion of forest to the east.

The first nomadic hunter-gatherer groups arrived in the region around 9000 BCE. By around 2000 BCE, local populations had mastered agriculture and the domestication of animals such as the llama, alpaca, and guinea pig.

From this time onward, a series of cultures emerged, each serving as the foundation for the next.

During the Early Horizon period, the foundations of Andean civilization were laid down. Agriculture led to the sedentarization of populations and the emergence of ceramics, notably in the Valdivia culture.

Various cultures developed in the Andean region, among them the Chavín culture. Around 900 BCE, the site of Chavín de Huántar—a ceremonial and political center—brought together cultural, religious, and architectural elements from different peoples of the coast, highlands, and jungle. Chavín culture also influenced the Cupisnique and Recuay cultures.

During the following period, known as the Early Intermediate Period, the region experienced a remarkable cultural flourishing marked by the emergence of the state and the development of increasingly complex architecture and urbanism.

Three cultures stand out in particular: Paracas, Nazca, and Moche. The first is known for its textiles, often used in funerary bundles, and for the practice of cranial deformation. The second is famous for the geoglyphs drawn in the desert, as well as for its high-quality ceramics and sophisticated hydraulic engineering. The third is distinguished by the construction of large monumental complexes and their painted decoration, as well as by the refinement of its ceramics and metalwork.

The next period, called the Middle Horizon, is characterized by the emergence of two new political and cultural powers: Wari, in the southern highlands of Peru, and Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca. Both cultures were of great importance to the Inca civilization: Wari for political, economic, and social questions; and Tiwanaku for its religion.

Around the year 900 CE, the Late Intermediate Period began, characterized by the appearance of a great mosaic of highly diverse peoples. A wide variety of political entities emerged, including kingdoms such as Chimú—organized as a state with its capital at Chan Chan— and lordships such as Lambayeque, Chancay, and Ica.

Around 1450, this diversity of political models came to an end with the emergence of the Incas and the creation of their empire, the Tawantinsuyu, which brought most of the Andean region under its authority. This final period of autonomy before the Spanish conquest, known as the Late Horizon, lasted until the capture of Cusco in 1533 by the Spanish troops of Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro.