Peru (3/4)
This is also part of this series: Journeys from the Centre of the Earth (4)
|
|
 |
|
Subjects:
Ancient Civilizations, Anthropology, Archaeology, Design, Geography, Geology, History, South American Studies, Volcanoes |
Grade Level: JrH-Adult
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No |
Running Time: 50 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No |
Copyright Date: 2006
Available in French: No
|
The culture and history of Peru has been dominated by the Andes, a mountain range which stretches 6000 kilometres from Columbia to Cape Horn. Reaching over 22,000 feet high, they have made the region the most environmentally diverse in the world with 28 out of the world's 32 climates, including both the wettest and driest places on Earth. Here the first civilisation in the Americas emerged, not supported by farming, but by fish from the cold Humboldt Current brought up by the crashing together of the Nazca and South American plates. Its unique climates meant no area could be self-sufficient, which led to trade and the establishment of bigger and bigger empires until its pinnacle of achievement in the Inca Empire. But convergent catastrophes, an El Niño event, a 500-year earthquake and volcanic eruption meant that two million Incas were defeated by only 183 Spanish Conquistadors in search of gold. |
Links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/journeys-centre-earth.shtml
