Peru
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Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It was once part of the Spanish Empire.
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History
Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a medium Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 45%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.
The Peruvian population, estimated at 28 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
Guinea pigs
The practice of eating guinea pigs dates back to pre-Columbian times when they were domesticated by the native tribes of the Andes. Today, guinea pigs are still commonly raised by families in rural areas. Guinea pigs are usually kept in special enclosures made of clay or brick. These small animals are fed a diet of alfalfa and corn, which helps to produce tender and flavorful meat. In Peruvian cuisine, guinea pigs are typically roasted or fried and served whole. The traditional dish is often accompanied with potatoes or corn. The meat is said to be rich and succulent. Its flavor is similar to that of rabbit or dark chicken meat. Guinea pig meat is also believed to have high nutritional value, with a good balance of protein, fat, and minerals.
Guinea pig consumption has become so ingrained in Peruvian culture that it is often served at special occasions. These occasions include weddings, baptisms, and other celebrations. Many Peruvians believe that guinea pig meat is not only delicious but also has medicinal properties. It is believed that eating Guinea pig aids digestion and strengthens the immune system. Guinea pigs are a popular Peruvian delicacy and an important part of the country’s culinary heritage, this tradition can be compared the the love of dog and cat meat in China.
Ancient Peru
When Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru in 1532, the Inca Empire was the largest in the world, with more than ten million subjects from southern Colombia to Chile. Yet it was less than a hundred years old. Centuries before the Incas rose to power, other advanced civilizations had prospered in Peru, building stone temples and palaces that rival Machu Picchu in sophistication and beauty.
- It is important to note that while the Incas are famed for their presence in Peru, they were not the first inhabitants of this land. The Chimú were South American Indians, known for maintaining the largest political system in Peru before the Incas arrived, the Chimú Empire being founded in 900 CE. Their own language, Yunca – which is now extinct – was distinctly different from the Inca language, and although the language may not have been used by the Incas, Chimú life and culture influenced all the basic elements of the Inca civilisation. A predecessor to the Inca Empire was the Wari Empire, which has been dated back to around 600 CE and was coetaneous with the Tiwanaku Empire in modern-day Bolivia. Much of Wari is still being learned about as the first excavations only began in the 1940’s, but it has been called one of the most important of all ancient Andean cultures. The influence these two cultures had on the Inca Empire stretches from the societal and political structures down to the architecture of their cities.
- The Inca Empire – or Tawantinsuyu – first appeared in the 12th century, and at its height, spanned areas of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Columbia, becoming the largest empire in the world at that time. The empire was able to expand and prosper due to the military strength of their emperors, the fabric of their society, and innovative building methods influenced by the Chimú, which allowed the 12 million inhabitants of the empire to live in a harsh environment, scattered throughout the Andes. Rapid expansion of Tawantinsuyu began with the 9th emperor – Pachacuti. Pachacuti focused much of his efforts on strengthening Cuzco, which was the capital of the empire, and he began an expansive irrigation project which involved channeling rivers and creating intricate agricultural terraces. The longevity of the Inca Empire was influenced by the Wari methods of maintaining an empire, with the style of art popular in Tawantinsuyu also being influenced by the Wari Empire. The Inca Empire had no written language, although they spoke a form of Quechua. The way we can account for historical records from this time is through the Inca use of quipu which were knotted cords – a unique and innovative way to pass messages and keep records which involves no writing. The Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro, arrived in Peru in the early 16th century which signalled the end for the Incas, as alien European diseases and a civil war spread throughout the empire. The Spanish sacked Cuzco in late 1533, and the last stronghold of the Inca Empire – Vilcabamba – finally fell in 1572.[1]
Ancient blue-eyed mummies
- When one thinks of Peru prior to the arrival of the first Europeans, as in the Spanish conquistadors in 1532, you tend to think of the resident population as all being what we tend to call Native American, as in an exclusively black haired, brown skinned and brown eyed people whose ancestors crossed the Bering Land Bridge several thousands of years before. [...] In January 1992, a container load of rubber ducks and other bathtub toys fell into the Pacific off a ship and scientists studied where they traveled by the ocean currents. Surprisingly, some wound up on the shore of South America. So what if ancient people intentionally set sail across the Pacific before the Vikings and Columbus? Molecular geneticist Sergio Pena analyzed DNA from teeth in skulls of Botocudo, indigenous people who lived in southeastern Brazil until they were eradicated by the Portuguese in the 1800s in an attempt to quell dissent. Fourteen Botocudo skulls were kept in a museum in Rio de Janeiro. To the scientists’ surprise, in two of the skulls, they found DNA indicating Polynesian ancestry. A second lab confirmed the findings. Pena remarked, “The most exciting potential explanation of the DNA findings is that ancestors of the Botocudo once interbred with those of Polynesians before the peopling of the Americas 15,000 – 20,000 years ago. Yet one of the most interesting parts of the discovery went unnoticed. DNA studies, on which we currently base our models of human colonization of the Americas, were, up until this study, based almost exclusively on living people. Thus any race that went extinct, such as the Botocudo and many others, would never be represented and their part of the story never told. One case in point are the oral traditions among the Inca pertaining to the Viracocha, as seen above, who were tall bearded men that lived in Peru and Bolivia long before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Archeologists working at Peru’s Huaca Pucllana ruins recently pulled a blue-eyed mummy from an ancient tomb thought to be from the ancient Wari culture that flourished before the Incas. Could the blue eyes simply be symbolic rather than a literal and genetic characteristic of the person? Studies carried out by scientists from the Institute of Forensic Genetics at the University of Copenhagen have concluded that all blue-eyed people share a common ancestor, someone who lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago near the area by the Black Sea.[2]
