Quite spontaneously –and almost inevitably- the mention of Peru brings to our mind images of Machu Picchu and the Inca Empire.

However, the remarkable civilization of the Incas emerged only at a latter stage of cultural development in the pre-Hispanic Andes. In fact, Inca history scarcely spans one century in 12 000 years of human occupations of Peruvian soil.

Peru is a peculiar case among the handful of foci of independent pre-historic human development because it breaks established patterns and requires us to thoroughly rethink the concept of civilization itself.

Since the nineteenth century, one of the central components of the universal paradigm that accounted for the emergence of civilization was that urban societies around the world could have appeared following the pattern set by the European cities of the Renaissance.

Nevertheless, recent decades have seen evidence –mostly coming from the Central Andes and, particularly, from Peru- against this supposedly universal process.

This guide is an invitation to discover the complex civilizations and cultures that flourished in ancient Peru which were partially relegated to oblivion despite of the richness of their iconographic manifestations and the wide range of contributions they have made in uninterrupted succession to mankind’s technological and cultural heritage during almost four millennia.

Note: The archeological legacy to which this guide refers encompasses 12 of Peru’s departments following a North to South axis. The term “Central Andes” refers to the vast territory stretching along the Andes mountain range from southern Ecuador to northern Bolivia. The term “Andean world” is broadly used in a similar sense.