HISTORY OF PERU

ABOUT THE FIRST INHABITANTS
There is evidence that people first arrived 20,000 years ago and that they brought with them the first stone tools which they used to collect fruit or to hunt. The earliest evidence we have of their presence is a cave painting in Toquepala (Tacna: 7600 B.C.) and examples of dwellings in Chilca (Lima: 5800 B.C.). They mastered agriculture and construction; this we can tell through the number of archaeological sites that can still be visited today. Over time, new techniques appeared that integrated the cultural regions, which gave rise to textiles, metallurgy and pottery. In this manner the great cultures were born.


PRE-INCAN CULTURES
All are characterized by their particular ceramic style, excellent management of natural resources, and knowledge that enriched the Inca culture. These cultures were present in the coastal and mountainous regions of Peru for almost 1,400 years. The Pre-Incan cultures included the following:

Chavín Culture: (1200 - 200 B.C.) Considered the cradle of the Andean civilizations because they are the oldest, this culture is characterized by the large expansion of their religion and art in the Andean world. Their principal town was the temple of Chavín de Huántar. Agriculture was the foundation of their economy. They knew how to work with gold, silver, and copper.

Paracas Culture: (200 A.D. - 600 A.D.) Born in the Paracas Peninsula, this culture expanded through the department of Ica and became the best textile producers in the history of Peru. They were recognized in 1925 by Julio C. Tello when he discovered the cemeteries of Cerro Colorado and Cavernas where he found the bottle shaped tombs with textiles containing mummies with skulls which were reformed and had holes from the removal of the brain. Fortunately, many of their beautiful polychromatic coverings have been rescued and restored.

Mochica Culture: (200 B.C. - 600 A.D.) They were displaced into the strip of desert in the north coast of Peru. Their focal point of development was initially the ceremonial center of Moche in the valley of the same name. Here they constructed the famous Huaca de La Luna (Temple of the Moon), leaving ruins of pyramid shaped temples, palaces, and fortified works of irrigation and cemeteries as a testimony to their high artistic and technological development. Their sculptural ceramics and realistic representions of human faces (descriptive or portrait huacos) and sexual scenes (erotic huacos). In 1986, Walter Alva discovered the majesty of a demigod: The Lord of Sipán.

Nazca Culture: (300 B.C. - 900 A.D.) Discovered by the German archaeologist Federico Max Uhle, this culture developed in the coastal department of Ica, with their principal city being Cahuachi. Their economic base was agriculture, a difficult challenge because of the characteristically dry climate. Their main legacy is the enigmatic lines that are found in the pampas of Nasca. These lines were studied for 40 years by Dr. María Reiche, the Lady of the Desert.

Tiahuanaco Culture: (200 A.D.) One of the most important American Pre-Hispanic civilizations, this culture developed in the plateau of Collao. Their center was the sacred city of Taipicala, 18 km southeast of Lake Titicaca. It has been calculated to have had between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. Their main god was Wiracocha or god of the Varas, the same god that is depicted on the famous Portada del Sol (Gate of the Sun), the most prominent sculptural piece of Tiahuanaco.

Wari Culture: (600 A.D.) In the beginning of the 7th century, the Huarpa nobility of Ayacucho combined the contributions of the cultures that came from Tiahuanaco (the Wiracocha cult) and Nasca (polychromatic pottery) to form the cultural and political phenomenon known as the Wari. The Waris established their economy on general commerce and had a population of about 40,000. It was their commercial character that allowed them to assimilate the dress and structures of other cultures. They adopted their military and urban organization, as well as their grasp of handicrafts, from the Nasca.

Lambayeque Culture (Sicán): (600 - 1400 A.D.) With the decline of the Wari culture in the north coast, small kingdoms arose that reflected a new ideological conception, both social and economic. It is estimated that the origin of this culture can be found at the end of the Middle Horizon, that is to say immediately after the collapse of the Moche culture. In 1978, Izumi Shimada conducted the Sicán archaeological project, starting the arduous work that led to the discovery of the Lord of Sicán.

Chimú Culture: (700 A.D.) With marked class divisions, inherited titles and a complex bureaucracy, the Chimú rose to be the largest military state of the Peruvian coast. Their administrative capital was the city of Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the Americas, which grew to have almost 100,000 inhabitants. The thematic art of the Chimú represents the coastal flora and fauna. Other ruins that stand out are the Huaca Arco Iris, or Dragón (Rainbow, or Dragon, Temple), in Trujillo and the Templo de Paramonga in the north of Lima.

Chachapoyas Culture: (800 A.D.) Located in the northern jungle of Peru, this was a kingdom of farmers and warriors. Their capital, the citadel of Kuelap, is in the department of Amazonas. It was a civilization of excellent architects which constructed cities and mausoleums in the inaccessible zones of the north jungle. In the Laguna de las Momias (Lake of the Mummies, Amazonas), impressive human sarcophagi were found.


THE INCAN EMPIRE
It is well known how the Tahuantinsuyo came to extend from the Ancasmayo River (Colombia) in the north to the Maule River (Chile) and Tucumán (Argentina) in the south, and to the eastern border of the jungle which the Incas could not penetrate. It was perhaps the largest and most important empire in the Americas. Lead by the sovereign noble Inca, it is in the Cusqueña architecture that their splendor is demonstrated: El Korikancha or Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun), the fortresses of Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuaman, and the citadel of Machu Picchu.


THE CONQUEST
One of the most important and significant events in our history and one of the most prominent in the history of the New World because of the consequences it caused. It started when the Spanish, under the command of Francisco Pizarro (whose men were less than 200), arrived from Panama, invaded the territory of Tahuantinsuyo in the north (Tumbes) and displaced people until Cajamarca. They then took military control of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532, after having taken Atahualpa, the last emperor of the famous Inca Empire, prisoner.

Subsequently, all of the territories of Ancient Peru were conquered and incorporated under the dominion of the Spanish. Also coming to Peru with the Spanish were the Africans who were added to the indigenous and Spanish population, forming part of the social and racial structure of our country.


THE REPUBLIC
In 1821, Peru was declared an independent country by Don José de San Martín and in 1824 Simón Bolívar ended colonization with the Independence wars. Thanks to the dividends gained from the sale of guano, cotton and sugar, in 1860 we could stop relying on the contribution of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of the blacks. Europeans and Chinese came to Peru to work in manual labor and were integrated into our society. As President, Manuel Prado united the country with trains and organized the first civil regiment of Peru. The first Japanese also came to Peru, but in 1879 the war with Chile started, we were defeated, and were then bankrupt. The economy was dominated by the landowners and a model of exportation based on the exploitation of rubber.


MODERN PERU
Augusto B. Leguía led a civil dictatorship during the first years of the 20th century. He tried to modernize the country and create works to get the state out of debt. He declared the intellectual creation, symbolized by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre and José Carlos Mariátegui, creator of the Peruvian socialist thinking. Later militarism reemerged with the new government of Manuel A. Odría in 1948. Fernando Belaúnde was deposed as the the President of the Armed Forces in 1968 during a coup. This started the military dictatorship with socialist inspiration headed by Juan Velasco, who proposed a policy of state expansion to solve the problems of poverty in the country. He nationalized petroleum and communications and imposed agrarian reforms. He was succeed by Francisco Morales Bermúdez, who was pressured by the people to call a constitutional assembly. Belaúnde was reelected in 1980, but the crisis in the poorest sectors caused the birth of two subversive movements which survived for more than 10 years and unleashed violence in Peru. The government of Alan García ruled the country from 1985 to 1990; at only 36 years old, García was the youngest President in the history of Peru. During their first two years, the government refused to pay their external debt, thus multiplying the debt for all Peruvians. They froze the savings of all bank accounts nominated in dollars and had to create a new currency, the Inti, which announced the state intervention in the banks. In 1990, García was accused of receiving bribes to allow the construction of an electric train that never worked. Alberto Fujimori was next elected as President. In 1992 he dissolved Congress and decreed an emergency government. After being reelected in 2000, the people demanded a new election and the interim government was established under Valentín Paniagua. In the year 2001, Alejandro Toledo took over as President. The current President is Alan García Pérez (2006-2011).