SOUTH AMERICAN MAIN CULTURES:

MUISCAS OR CHIBCHA CULTURE: The Chibcha or Musica meaning "the people" was an ancient culture centered on the upper Magdalena River, around Bogotá, Colombia. Detached tribes of the same stock were found along the Central American isthmus and in Costa Rica. Culturally, the Chibcha resembled the Inca; they practiced farming with the aid of an extensive system of irrigation, wove cotton cloth, and worked gold with a high degree of skill, although they were ignorant of the use of copper and bronze. Excellent pictures

TAIRONA CULTURE: The Taironas achieved very high development in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.  A complex road system communicated the plain coast of the Atlantic Ocean with the high Mountains of Santa Marta. Many towns were constructed along the road side, many of them built up the hills with parapet and "terrazas" with planted vegetation to avoid erosion. Their construction skills were superb in comparison to other cultures in Colombia. Excellent pictures

CHAVIN CULTURE: The Chavin culture controlled N Peru from 900 B.C. to 200 B.C. Its ceremonial centers, featuring the jaguar god, survived long after. Chavin architecture, ceramics, and textiles influenced other Peruvian cultures. Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, 1998.

CHANCAY CULTURE: This culture developed in the valleys of Chancay and Chillon, but they extended their influence to Huaura (to the north) and to the right margin of the Rimac river to the south. (900 - 1400 d.n.e.) The Chancay ceramics come from vast cemeteries located in Ancon and the Chancay valley. This objects have a rough white surface decorated in black. Pitchers with a face shaped on top (called "chinas"), small figures of men and women with their arms held high (best known as "cuchimilcos") are the most representative works. Ceramics had a large scale production beacause of the use of moulds.

PARACAS CULTURE: The Paracas was an ancient culture of Peru. Paracas was probably influenced by the earlier culture of Chavín de Huantar. The Paracas are known for resin-painted pottery and textiles, for many the best the world has even known.

MOCHE CULTURE: Mo·chi·ca (mo-chê¹ke) or  Mo·che (mo¹châ, -chè) noun. A pre-Incan civilization that flourished on the northern coast of Peru from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 600, known especially for its pottery vessels modeled into naturalistic human and animal figures. Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, (C) 1998.

TIAHUANACU CULTURE: Tiahuanaco, (tê´e-we-nä¹ko) is an ancient ruin in Western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca. Perhaps the work of the Aymara, it was probably the center of a pre-Incan empire. Building, never completed, began before A.D. 500. Stone blocks weighing up to 100 tons were brought from several miles off, fitted, notched, and dressed with a precision unequaled even by the Inca. Tiahuanaco painted pottery is one of the great achievements of pre-Columbian art. More about Tiahuanacu. Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, (C) 1998.

CHIMU CULTURE: Chimu, was an ancient civilization on the desert coast of N Peru that flourished after c.1200. The Chimu were urban people with a powerful military, a complex social system, and well-planned cities such as Chan Chan, their capital. They influenced the Cuismancu empire of central Peru, but were absorbed c.1460 by the Inca. Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, (C) 1998.

NAZCA CULTURE: Nazca or Nasca, was an ancient indigenous culture of S Peru, fl. before A.D. 1000. The Nazca are known for their polychrome pottery and skillful weaving and dyeing. Aerial exploration of the arid tableland surrounding their valley has revealed a network of lines interspersed with giant animal forms—probably related to Nazca astronomy and religion. Did the Nazca People used Balloons? Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, (C) 1998.

INCAS CULTURE: In·ca (îng¹ke) noun plural Inca or  In·cas. 1.   a. A member of the group of Quechuan peoples of highland Peru who established an empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile before the Spanish conquest in 1535. b. A ruler or high-ranking member of the Inca empire. 2.      A member of any of the peoples ruled by the Incas. Spanish from Quechua inka, ruler, man of royal linage. There are more than 20 million of Quechuan Indian today among the countries of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Northern Argentina. Excellent Pictures by Philip Baird, (C) 1998. Map: Pizarro and the Conquest 1531

YANOMAMO TRIBE: The Yanomamo (Yah-no-mah-muh) also called Yanomami, and Yanomama, are deep jungle Indians living in the Amazon basin in both Venezuela and Brazil.

MAPUCHE TRIBE: The Mapuche (Araucanians) people were the first inhabitants of half of the area today known as Chile and Argentina. Before the Spanish arrived in 1541, the Mapuche occupied a vast territory in the A Southern Cone of the continent and the population numbered about two million. At present they number approximately 1.5 million (constituting over 10% of the total population) in Chile, and two hundred thousand in Argentina.

AYMARA TRIBE: The Aymara are an ancient people with a complex and still imperfectly understood history. They are a people rich in myth, knowledge and spirituality. The Aymara were the members of a great but little-known culture of the Americas centered in the ancient city of Tiahuanaco. Between 400 AD. and 1000 AD. Tiahuanaco was the capital of an empire that spanned great parts of the south-central Andes Mountains.

URO TRIBE: The Uros Indians of Peru and Bolivia are a very interesting people. They live high in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes and on Lake Titicaca on floating islands. They were forced onto the lake as the Incan Indians pushed further and further into their territory. The Uros Islands are made of reeds which grow naturally on the banks of Lake Titicaca.

GUARANI TRIBE: The Guaraní are best known for their connection to the early Jesuit missions of Paraguay, the most notable mission foundation ever established in America, and for their later heroic resistance -- as the State of Paraguay, against the combined powers of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay -- until practically all their able-bodied men were almost exterminated.

WICHI TRIBE: The Wichi have lived for millennia on their land in northern Argentina, part of the huge lowland basin known as the Chaco. They live between the Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers near the borders of Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.

TECHUELCHE TRIBE: Patagonia has been permanently inhabited for around 12,500 years. When the Spaniards came, there were two main groups. To the North of the river Chubut were the GÜNÜN-A-KÜNA or Northern Tehuelche. To the South were the AONIKENK or Southern Tehuelche up to the Strait of Magellan

DIAGUITA TRIBE: The Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a groupof South American Indians. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the northwestern Argentina.

SOUTHERN TRIBES: (Argentina): There are some Indian Reservations in Argentina, and it is believe that the Native American Population in Argentina is around 350,000 natives.

DISTRIBUTION OF INDIAN IN SOUTH AMERICA (Walter Krickeberg):
Hunters and Collectors: 1) The Magallanes Group, 2) The Pampas Group, 3) The Chaco Group, 4)The Brazilian Eastern Group.
Crop Cultivators: 1) El Amazonian Group, 2) The Andes Group, 3)The Caribbean Group

Picture Collection on Peruvian Civilizations (C) Clive Ruggles, UL

TIMELINE OF ANCIENT AMERICA CHART

A MAP OF SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURES
 

LATIN AMERICAN INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS

HISTORY OF THE "CONQUEST" OF PERU (Map)
Source: The Last of the Incas: The Rise and Fall of an American Empire by Edward Hyams and George Ordish

Pizarro and his men found the camp where Atahualpa was staying, and upon sending in Hernando Pizarro, Francisco's brother, Atahualpa agreed to meet with the Spanish. Now, he was not ignorant of their ways, nor was their arrival a surprise. in fact he had been expecting them. After several days of making the Spaniards wait, Atahualpa rode to meet them. However, when he arrived at the agreed place there was no one in sight, for they were hiding in order to make a surprise attack. The first person to reveal himself was Vicente de Valverde, a Dominican Friar. Through a translator, he told the Inca Atahualpa that he and his people must convert, and if he refused they would be considered an enemy of the Church and Spain. Atahualpa refused (Hyams and Ordish 221). His refusal gave Pizarro a perfect reason to begin an attack on the Inca people. They did not practice the true faith and therefore were totally justified in attacking them in the name of Christianity. The Spanish opened fire and attacked the Inca soldiers that were there with Atahualpa (221). In the struggle, Pizarro's men went after the Inca, intending to kill him. But Pizarro had other plans and in saving Atahualpa's life was the only Spaniard injured in the showdown (225). Atahualpa was then captured and taken prisoner (226).

The amazing part of all this is that the Inca had such power and influence over his people that even the civil war and the capture of Atahualpa had little effect on everyday society (227). Aside from the fact that the brothers were divided, things were still running fairly smoothly. Upon his capture, Atahualpa was not treated badly but with respect and was allowed to communicate with his people, including his troops (228). Of course Atahualpa wanted to be free again and decided to make a deal with Pizarro. He agreed to fill a room with gold and silver in return for his release, and they signed a contract to that effect (231). In the meantime, Pizarro had no intention of letting Atahualpa go because he needed his influence over the Inca people to keep order once the Spanish started to take over. Huáscar, who played only a small role in things, was still alive and Atahualpa feared that as long as Huáscar lived, Pizarro might not need him. For Huáscar would make a better puppet ruler than Atahualpa. He feared for his life and thus ordered the execution of his brother Huáscar (232).

The contract was finally filled, but, as can be expected, Pizarro did not fulfill his end of the bargain. He did not free Atahualpa. Under the guise of a possible insurrection among the Inca against the Spanish, Pizarro decided to bring Athualpa up on charges. There were twelve total, the most important of which were attempting to revolt against the Spanish, practicing idolatry, and murdering Huáscar (250). Pizarro and Almagro acted as judges and a defense person was provided for Atahualpa, as was a prosecutor. As even Atahualpa himself expected, he was found guilty and sentenced to be burned (251).

With all due haste, Pizarro decided to execute Atahualpa that night, fearing that the rest of his men may learn that there was no insurrection, and that Atahualpa had been falsely accused. After being lead to the place of execution, Atahualpa begged for his life (253). At this time Valverde, the priest that started the whole thing at Cajamarca, told Atahualpa that if he agreed to convert, he would reduce the sentence. He agreed to be baptized and was garroted instead of burned (254). The day was August 29, 1553. "With him died...the independent existence of a noble race" (254).

The "Fall" of the Incas

The death of Atahualpa at Cajamarca was the beginning of the end for the Inca people. "With the death of Atahualpa, Peru was to discover what it was like to suffer the dominion of a European hero" (254). The situation went quickly downhill. Pizarro had Toparca, Atahualpa's brother named Inca and used him as a "puppet" ruler until he died unexpectedly. Manco Capac, Huáscar's brother was then named ruler and also set up as a "puppet." Here everything fell apart. Remote provinces of the Incas extensive empire revolted and in some cases even allied with the Spanish against the Incas (259). Lands and crops were neglected and the people experienced a famine they had never known. The Indians, now wise to the Spanish motive of getting out all the gold and silver they could, started looting and hiding it from everyone. Addiction to coca and alcohol were commonplace all over the kingdom (256,257). Disease also played a huge role. Those diseases that had once been running rampant all over Europe in the previous century, were now destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of Incas. Inflation was terrible. The gold that Pizarro and his men had wanted so badly was everywhere and prices soared. A bottle of wine was $1,700 and a good horse was $7,000. Grain became more valuable than the Spaniards precious gold (257). The great civilization no longer existed.

Francisco Pizarro himself turned out to be an ineffective ruler. He had problems controlling his own men let alone the Indians. Because there were so many disagreements among the Spanish at the time, King Charles of Spain had to step in. In effect, he gave modern Peru to Pizarro and modern Chile to Almagro. However, they still had fights over the Inca capital of Cuzco, and Pizarro finally sent his brother Hernando to confront Almagro. He did just that. He won the city and proceeded to have Almagro garroted. In return for this, Almagro's Inca son and his followers had Pizarro killed.

Although we can see that the Incas obviously existed after the death of Atahualpa, it is also obvious that with his execution came the end of a great civilization. The cultures of the Spanish and Incas clashed to such a great extent that it brought about the demise. The differences in their backgrounds, such as religion, support this. "Spanish Catholicism was by Peruvian standards, atrocious" (260). The Incas could not understand how a religion could justify what the Spanish were doing to their people.

The Peruvians were used to war, but it was a war conducted according to strict rules, it was relatively mild and humane, and victory was wisely and economically used. They now found themselves opposed to a new kind of human being who waged war à outrance, inspired by a terrifying religion which enabled them to use treachery, hypocrisy, cruelty, torture, and massacre in the name of a God of Love; who were indifferent to the suffering they inflicted and superhumanly stoical in bearing suffering which their own conduct entailed for themselves...(260)

Besides the clash of religion there was also the Spaniards greed for gold. As we have seen, Pizarro and most of his men were from the lower classes in Spain and had little to do with such wealth prior to their involvement with the Incas. What better motivation is there for conquering a people without caring for their welfare if not gold and riches? "It must have seemed to these wretched people that they had fallen into the hands of all-powerful devils, for their conquerors were for the most part heartless and, moreover, clearly mad, since they mistook gold for wealth and valued it above the heart's blood of a great nation" (262).

God, gold and glory. These three words are often used to describe the conquest of the natives of the New World, and with the situation of the Incas it could not be more true. Because of these three words, an entire empire of people fell and will never return to their former glory. The Spanish gave little thought to it though. The Indians "were enslaved, tortured, and worked to death to provide the Europeans with gold. They were infected by the newcomers with tuberculosis, measles, and smallpox" (262). They were forced to convert to a religion that they did not believe in. Edward Hyams said it best with his use of an analogy. He compared the Inca civilization to that of a dance where all of the patterns are the same and it continues day to day without faltering or interruption. He says, "the great dance had been their reality; they awoke into the nightmare of chaos" (263). It was a chaos that destroyed to lives that they knew and that would be forever changed.

Source: The Last of the Incas: The Rise and Fall of an American Empire by Edward Hyams and George Ordish

NATIVE AMERICANS OF LATIN AMERICA
The Native American population of Latin America is estimated at 26.3 million (some said 40 million to 70 million), of whom 24 million live in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Generally classified as campesinos (peasants) by the governments of the countries in which they live, the vast majority live in extreme poverty in remote rural areas where they eke out a living from the land. Native American campesinos make up 55 percent of the total population of Bolivia and Guatemala. In all of Latin America, only Uruguay has no remaining indigenous population.

Only 1.5 percent of the total Native American population of Latin America is designated as tribal, mainly in Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Many of the tribal groups live in the remote jungle environment of the Amazon Basin, where they subsist by hunting, fishing, and gathering manioc and other roots. Current Brazilian expansion into the Amazon, however, threatens the physical and cultural survival of the Amazon tribes, as diseases brought by outsiders decimate the indigenous populations, and mineral exploration and highway construction destroy tribal hunting grounds.

The largest unacculturated Brazilian tribe today is the Yanomamo, numbering more than 16,000 people, for whom the Brazilian government plans to create a special park where they may be protected. Anthropologists estimate, however, that the Yanomamo would need at least 6.4 million hectares (16 million acres) in order to continue their traditional life-style.

The total indigenous population of Latin America includes slightly more than 400 different Native American groups, with their own languages or dialects. Like the Native Americans of North America, they live in vast extremes of climate and conditions, ranging from the Amazon jungle to the heights of the Andes, where one group, on Lake Titicaca, subsists on artificial islands of floating reeds.

Source: Microsoft Bookshelf  and Microsoft Encyclopedia, 1996-1997.