Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-251) and index.

"The Incas emerged in the fourteenth century to build one of the largest empires of the ancient world. At its zenith, it extended northwards from the Inca capital Cusco to include parts of modern Peru and Ecuador, and southwards into Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The sheer scale of the empire the Incas controlled, coupled with the challenges of the varied and rugged landscape, makes their achievement truly remarkable. This new survey provides an account of the Incas: their politics, economics, religion, architecture, art, and technology. The authors look in detail at the capital Cusco and at the four parts of the empire, exploring not just famous sites such as Machu Picchu, but all the major regional settlements, many of them straddling Inca roads. What emerges is a portrait showing how the Incas ruled some peoples directly but allowed others to maintain their traditional leaders with little interference. The book concludes with the end of the empire: the arrival of the Spaniards, the assassination of the Inca ruler Atawallpa, and the final years of the rebellious, neo-Inca state in the tropical forests of Vilcabamba."--Jacket

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