Inca Investigation

Craig Morris

Hi, I'm Craig Morris. One of the most amazing places I've excavated as an archaeologist is the ancient Inca city of Huánuco Pampa. It's located high up in the Andes mountains in Peru. Today, no one lives there. But 500 years ago, it was a thriving city in the Inca empire.  

Craig Morris

Hi, I'm Craig Morris. One of the most amazing places I've excavated as an archaeologist is the ancient Inca city of Huánuco Pampa. It's located high up in the Andes mountains in Peru. Today, no one lives there. But 500 years ago, it was a thriving city in the Inca empire.  

Map of South America with yellow area designated to show footprint of Inca Empire, llama figurine, Peru travel poster, and a piece of pottery

The Inca empire stretched more than 3,000 miles along the west coast of South America.

How do we know what life was once like in Huánuco Pampa? Because hundreds of buildings have been preserved, dozens of buildings have been excavated, and more than a million artifacts have been found there. 

By looking at the maps we created of the buildings, and examining the artifacts found near them, my team and I figured out what some of the buildings were once used for. I found some of the places where people lied, where they stored food, where they held festivals, and much more.

It's your turn to do archaeology and investigate the Inca!

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Image Credits:

Photos: Artifact photos: courtesy of AMNH and Craig Morris; Illustrations: Archaeologist's office: Don Baker/Represented by Kolea Baker; Inca Chronicles: The Royal Library, Copenhagen, http://www.kb.dk/elib/mss/poma/index-en.htm (redrawn by Eric Hamilton); Inca Empire Map: R. Alan Covey