Andean civilizations

Civilizations of South America's Andes Mountains From left to right: view of the sacred city of Caral (the oldest city in the Americas), a clava head (a characteristic symbol of the Chavín culture), a mummy from the Paracas culture, a Moche gold ear ornament inlaid with precious stones, pottery from the Recuay culture, a Wari ceramic vessel, the Gateway of the Sun (belonging to the city of Tiwanaku), a hummingbird figure from the Nazca Lines, a gold mask from the Sicán culture, the Chimú citadel of Chan Chan (the largest adobe city in the Americas), the sarcophagi of the Chachapoya culture, and a view of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. The Inca Empire and its road system encompassed most of the Andean civilization. The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and northwest Argentina. Archaeologists believe that Andean civilizations first developed on the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific Ocean. The Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest kno