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The Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire
The full arc of the Inca state, from its beginnings at Cuzco around 1438 through rapid expansion, civil war and Spanish conquest to the fall of Vilcabamba in 1572.
The Americas
Inca Expansion and Resistance
How the Inca empire grew, fought, fractured and held out against Spain.
The Rise of the Inca Empire: A Story of Conquest and Power
The campaigns of Topa Inca and Huayna Capac, from the defeat of the Chimu kingdom on the Peruvian coast to the long northern frontier war in Ecuador.
The Rise of the Inca Empire: A Story of Conquest and Survival
The Inca civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa, the role of epidemic disease, and the neo-Inca state at Vilcabamba that resisted Spain until 1572.
The Rise of the Inca Empire: The Last of the Ancient Civilizations
Places the Inca in a long line of Andean states from Caral to Wari, Tiwanaku and Chimu, and explains why calling them the last ancient civilization is loose.
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Maya Calendar and Script How the Maya counted time, wrote and understood the cosmos. Maya Cities and History Maya city-states, their rise and collapse, and the Spanish conquest. Inca Empire and Road Inca society, roads, timekeeping and the Spanish conquest. Inca Cities Cuzco, Machu Picchu and other Inca stone cities. Aztec Empire and Conquest The Aztec Triple Alliance, its religion and its fall. Nazca and Andean Mysteries The Nazca Lines and the puzzles of the ancient Andes. Early American Cultures Lesser known cultures of North, Central and South America. Olmec and Isthmian Cultures The Olmec heartland and its Epi-Olmec successors on the Gulf coast of Mexico. Maya Rulers, Religion and Life Maya kings, myths and everyday life, from dynastic politics to the underworld. Nazca Debates and Preservation Rival explanations for the Nazca Lines, fringe claims and efforts to protect the site. Lost Cities of the Americas Legendary lost cities of South America, separating evidence from myth and hoax. Easter Island and Rapa Nui The moai, the island people and the debate over what happened to them. Polynesia and the Pacific Ancient voyagers, island chiefdoms and the settlement of Oceania.