The sapa Inca himself was the supreme leader of the entire system. He was somewhat similar to the pharaoh in ancient Egypt in that he was both a political leader and believed to have divine power.

The Sapa Inca—the “only Inca,” or the king—rewarded loyalty with baskets of coca leaves. They were also given out to soldiers at feasts to celebrate victories. Of all prestigious Inca ...

Descended in part from Inca colonists sent here more than 500 years ago, the inhabitants of Taquile keep the old ways. They weave brilliantly colored cloth, speak the traditional language of the ...

Dead for 500 years, this Inca sacrificial mummy found on Chile's El Plomo Peak has opened the door to further inquiry into the strange and mysterious ritual life of the Inca. There may be hundreds ...

In 1781, the revolutionary amaru-kataristas occupy the highlands of southern Peru. Sapa Inca, the last descendant of the Aymara Incas, and his wife Gregoria, decide to continue the indigenous ...

Though the colonizers’ appreciation for the textiles of the Inca Empire left much to be desired, textiles were valued on par ...

This small gold model of a llama is a fitting offering for an Inca mountain god. The Incas revered gold as the sweat of the sun and believed that it represented the sun's regenerative powers.

The Inca Empire once stretched 2,500 miles along the Andes of western South America. At its height, it was one of the largest empires in the world and, in geographic terms, the most extensive polity ...

The smallest country in Central America geographically, El Salvador has the fourth largest economy in the region. With the global recession, real GDP contracted in 2009 and economic growth has ...

The last time I was in El Salvador, nearly a decade ago, the capital was gripped by the violence of gangs who terrified people — dictating where they could shop, work, go to school or even cross ...