It is believed that humans have inhabited Peru for roughly 20,000 years. The first signs of civilization appeared in 6000 BCE with the cultivation of corn and cotton, basketry and pottery and the spinning and knitting of cotton and wool.

Early cultures include: the Caral, the Chavin, the Chimu, the Mochica, the Nazca (responsible for creating the Nazca Lines), the Paracas, the Tiahuanaco, and the Wari. These cultures developed more advanced forms of cultivation, metallurgy, pottery, knitting, and social organization.

700 BCE marks the appearance of the Incas, a civilization that would eventually grow to become the most vast and powerful pre-Columbian empire in South America. The empire originated from a tribe in the Cuzco region that was able to assimilate other tribes and civilizations through both violent and peaceful means thanks to superior agriculture. Quechua was their official language, and the Inca himself was revered as the direct representative of their top deity – the sun god.

At the height of its rule, the Incan empire was overtaken in the battle of Cajamarca where a small band of 170 conquistadors led by Francisco Pizzaro were able to capture the Incan Emperor Atahualpa and most of his army of 80,000 soldiers.

The Spaniards founded Lima in 1535, and latter formed the Viceroyalty of Peru, which would become the richest viceroyalty of South America in the 18th century, up until Peru claimed its independence in 1821. Independence came as a result of several movements, both inside and outside of Peru, including indigenous rebellion, Napoleon’s weakening of Spain in Europe, and the growing independence of neighboring countries shaking off Spanish rule in South America. The campaigns of Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolívar decisively ended Peru’s Viceroyalty, and a new constitution was drafted by Bolívar in 1825.

In the years that followed, Peru’s political formation was slow and painful with several rulers taking on full dictatorial powers and the country becoming entangled in several territorial skirmishes and wars with other South American states.

A series of military coups and dictatorships further mired Peru’s development in the past century, with widespread poverty and social marginalization leading to the emergence of an armed left. In the beginning of the 1980s, the Peruvian government began fighting the Shining Path movement (Sendero Luminoso), a Maoist guerrilla faction of the communist party founded and led by philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán.

Shining Path guerrillas took to extreme measures that worsened over time. At first they executed cattle thieves and corrupt government officials, but with time started to bomb buildings and factories in Lima, and make assassination attempts on important political leaders, including those with leftist and even Marxist views that did not agree with the Shining Path’s methods. Eventually, they resorted to massacres in rural villages, killing women and children in the process, and even blowing up bodies with dynamite. Government responses, mainly those under the command of Alan Garcia and afterwards Alberto Fujimori, were equally brutal, with the military detaining, torturing and at times even raping anyone they suspected of being affiliated with the guerilla movement. The military also carried out several massacres where they wiped out entire villages while hiding their identity by wearing black ski masks to avoid being implicated.

In 1992, the Shining Path’s leader, Abimael Guzman was captured, and the movement’s momentum began to wane, decreasing year by year. By the year 2005, the Shining Path movement and its splinter groups appear to have been extinguished. All in all, it is estimated that just over 69,000 people have either died or disappeared in the conflict, predominantly in the rural areas of Peru where most of the fighting took place.

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Last edited Oct 11, 07 12:22 PM.

People & Culture

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1. Marcos's Tip on Nazca

Nazca, Southern Coast, Peru

Almost nothing to do or see here other than the Nazca lines and an ancient burial ground. Take a tour from a local Peruvian with a small prop plane. You will be amazed at the lines. The burial sites are also quite old and full of history that you can see and touch.

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2. Anne-Louise's Tip on Trujillo

Trujillo, Northern Coast, Peru

The town of Trujillo: Trujillo is a pretty city placed on the dry desert coast of Peru. In the center of the city close to "la plaza de armas",the city square, there are many colonial buildings. There are some dicoteques - personaly I've only been to La Barra once, really shortly, so I cannot tell much about the place. Whereas I've been to "El Mecano" several times. In "El Mecano" they play reggatón, salsa and latin pop and they have decorated the place in a nice formel one style. In the center there are several shopping centers with all kinds of cheap clothes, jewlleries of e.g. silver which is a lot cheaper than in the Western World, teddy bears, ect. Arqulogical cites outside the town. If you go on trips just outside Trujillo there are many beautiful arquelogical places to visit, especially the moon temple or, "la huaca de la luna" as it is called in Spanish, is an amazing ruin which maintains its coloured and figurative decorations. Chan Chan on the way to Trujillo's beach Huanchaco, is the largest Pre-Columbian city in Southamerica. It is very interesting, but hire a guide, because without the background history it might just seem like uninteresting huge sand walls. Bring sunblock, because the sun is very strong and you easily get burned if you don't take care. Food: Personally I strongly recommend the homemade burgers of Trujillo. You can get them with all sorts of dressing and especially with a lot of chilly(called aji) they taste amazing; pineaple(piña), "papitas"(chrisps) and guacamole are also recommended along with traditional dressings as kechup and mayonnaise. Besides burgers taditional fish dishes as cebiche/ceviche, and all the dishes of "pescado frito", fried fish are great in Trujillo as it is near the ocean. Rice with chicken/duck,"arroz con pollo/pato" is also aleays nice as well as a stuffed potato, "papa relleno", or sticks with spiced cow heart,"anticucho". Take care: Many of these dishes can e bought in the street stalls and personally I really like the culture of eating in the street, but if you eat e.g. ceviche be carefull and eat a proper place with pices not below 5 nuevo soles. Do not eat in the stalls in the markeds if your stomach is not very used to peruvian food - even many peruvians say it is disgusting ind would never eat there. Take special care with pizza, as many people, my self inculded, have had food poisoning from pizza.

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