The Inca culture is a very great sourece for the human being. But until now we do not know it very much. We need more and more information to know the true Inca. How ? The Inca is not only the Inca trail or the Machu Picchu, nor the stone only, The trational food, the music, the festive, their language (not the Spanish) ,all of those are the true Inca culture. But we do not see any one investigate it. What is pachamama? It mean the origin of the earth,the source of the earth,the mother of the earth. Where is the Inca now? We need to know the reeason why it disappeared. Maybe the answers will save our future.

Inca Town is a beautifully illustrated book - and not just for kids either, although it is a great teaching tool for children. Although all of the drawings are wonderful, the most impressive are the cutaways of Inca homes and temples depicting what probably went on inside these buildings. I'm less impressed with some of the "history" but, hey, you can't always have everything. The book is worth the price for sure! - Tiki

The ancient city of Machu Picchu is to Peru what the pyramids are to Egypt. Each year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit this archaeological site.

Though juvenile literature, this short book holds interest even for adults. After Philip Steele discusses the archaeological discovery of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham in 1911, he goes on to talk about the life the Incas must have led, using Machu Picchu as the example to illustrate what the Inca civilization was like. He starts off with the strict social classes that the Inca society had: the rulers, government, priests, religion, warriors and the farmer, the commoner and everyday life.

The Inca civilization (1200 - 1532 ) had phenomenal architects, builders and engineers. Even today, their stone work is unsurpassed in history. Steele, also covers, ever so briefly, the unique and advanced skills that the Incas had as craftsman, especially in pottery and jewelry. However, he elevates the society more than is justified. He makes statements like "the Incas were skilled doctors and surgeons" when actually they were homoeopathists that used natural plants as remedies. Regarding surgery, they sought to relieve pain in the head by tapping holes in the skull. Even though he points out that the Incas did not use money, only a barter system; he fails to point out that the Incas also did not write, read or use the wheel. And though he mentions their religious beliefs (pantheistic), he did not point out that while worshiping their Sun God, they did regularly sacrifice humans as part of the ceremony.

In "The Incas and Machu Picchu" Philip Steele has given children and adolescents an excellent primer to both the Inca civilization and this remarkable site. His writing is both entertaining and educational. The many color and b&w photographs are excellent, and with each picture, an informative caption makes this book and excellent tool.

This book has stunning photos of pre-colombian treasures. It's almost like a trip to a museum. Unfortunately, some pieces are enlarged way out of proportion, making scale difficult to gauge. Chapters include several aspects of daily life of the Incas. Also included are photo chapters on several important archelogical sites. A detailed chapter is included on the excavation on the treasures of Sipan from by Walter Alva, one of the principal investigators. This will look great on your coffee table and is a pleasure to page through and read.

I found this book full of very useful information of food plants from the high altitudes of the Andes. The book also has lower altitude plants used by the Incas.

I am a history teacher teacher and bought this book so that I could learn how to make Quipu with my classes. I found it to be extremely thorough. It begins by explaining what Quipu is and how to make quipu out of household items. . .that part was GREAT, although the directions were a bit tricky. It then explores what Quipu was used for and provides numerous examples of different Quipu. The pictures, though they are not in color, are great. This book is excellent for anyone wanting to learn the intricacies of Quipu. It is also an excellent resource for computer and/or math teachers; it explains how Quipu is used in the same way that databases are used. You can't help but notice the similarities between Quipu and an abacus, either. One thing it did appear to lack was any explanation or translation of an authentic Incan Quipu.

The information presented in this book is clearly written and very descriptive. It includes quotes from first-person sources, and illustrations which are quite nice. There is only one problem with it, which is the surprise mentioned in the title of this review: YOU HAVE TO ASSEMBLE THE POP-UP FEATURE YOURSELF! The pictures, though colorful and detailed, require considerable assembly skill and much detailed cutting using a craft knife. Perhaps if the description of the book had included the fact that it is a do-it-yourself project, I would have given it 5 stars - assuming I had PUCHASED it under those circumstances, that is! Taking on the assembly of a book right before returning to my classroom would have taken some consideration...

The best map printed for the Cordillera Real. More accurate than anything you will find in La Paz. The names often vary according to what the locals and climbers use, but the basic geographic info is suprisingly accurate. Buy this map before you come to Bolivia, because it is not available down here.

Account translated from a manuscript that was only discovered in the 80's. It records the descent of the Incas from the creation of the world through the conquest by the Spaniards. The focus is kept on the Inca's (kings) and their ceremonies and conquests from one of their descendents (whom the author used as his source), who also lived through the conquest. This is a good book to read after reading Discovery and Conquest of Peru, recently published, since you get behind the thoughts of the Spanish in the one and the Incas in the other. In this case we get those first impressions the natives had when they first encountered the Spanish and their horses. Contains maps, illustrations, and glossary.

The author carried several investigations critical to the
current view of the archaeological process of Peru. This
book resumes the full chronology and cultural secuence with
the view of the 70's. Despite the large number of discoveries
since these years, the general structure of that process
and the main statements and hypotesis remain, so this book
can be valuable to anyone seriously interested in the peruvian
past.