Avoid Becoming An Incan Mummy

You are the Sapa Inca, supreme ruler of a great empire. As the son of a god, you can never actually die, but sooner or later your body will stop working - then you will be mummified! This book features cartoon-style illustrations which encourage young readers to imagine what it was like to live in the heyday of the Inca empire.

Inca mummies hold fascinating secrets. They teach us hidden facts about the past. This narrative nonfiction book examines Inca mummies and the mummification process. Look inside to uncover these ancient treasures! Each book includes a table of contents, glossary of key words, index, author biography, sidebars, and mummy map.

The incredible Incas may have built South America's greatest civilisation, but they could be very icky indeed! The poor prisoners they pulled up their huge pyramids were likely to experience a very painful death. But things weren't much better for your average Inca. Find out... * How a bucket of stewed pee could make you beautiful * Why servants ate the emperor's hair * What happened in their legendary golden temples * What chilling fate awaited their child sacrifices The Incan Empire ruled 12 million people, but was conquered by 260 Spanish invaders - and a few germs. In fact, it was the llamas who really had it lucky... they got to wear earrings and drink beer! So would you rather be a lucky llama... or an incredible Inca? Erk!

Describes how the body of a wealthy merchant in ancient Egypt would be mummified and readied for the afterlife.

A light-hearted approach to the process of mummification in ancient Egypt.

The Incas is a captivating exploration of one of the greatest civilizations ever seen. Seamlessly drawing on history, archaeology, and ethnography, this thoroughly updated new edition integrates advances made in hundreds of new studies conducted over the last decade. • Written by one of the world’s leading experts on Inca civilization • Covers Inca history, politics, economy, ideology, society, and military organization • Explores advances in research that include pre-imperial Inca society; the royal capital of Cuzco; the sacred landscape; royal estates; Machu Picchu; provincial relations; the khipu information-recording technology; languages, time frames, gender relations, effects on human biology, and daily life • Explicitly examines how the Inca world view and philosophy affected the character of the empire • Illustrated with over 90 maps, figures, and photographs

The Incas carried out some of the most dramatic ceremonies known to us from ancient times. Groups of people walked hundreds of miles across arid and mountainous terrain to perform them on mountains over 6,096 m (20,000 feet) high. The most important offerings made during these pilgrimages involved human sacrifices (capacochas). Although Spanish chroniclers wrote about these offerings and the state sponsored processions of which they were a part, their accounts were based on second-hand sources, and the only direct evidence we have of the capacocha sacrifices comes to us from archaeological excavations. Some of the most thoroughly documented of these were undertaken on high mountain summits, where the material evidence has been exceptionally well preserved. In this study we describe the results of research undertaken on Mount Llullaillaco (6,739 m/22,109 feet), which has the world's highest archaeological site. The types of ruins and artifact assemblages recovered are described and analyzed. By comparing the archaeological evidence with the chroniclers' accounts and with findings from other mountaintop sites, common patterns are demonstrated; while at the same time previously little known elements contribute to our understanding of key aspects of Inca religion. This study illustrates the importance of archaeological sites being placed within the broader context of physical and sacred features of the natural landscape.

'A superb work of narrative history' Antonia Fraser On 25 September 1513, a force of weary Spanish explorers cut through the forests of Panama and were confronted with an ocean: the Mar del Sur, or the Pacific Ocean. Six years later the Spaniards had established the town of Panama as a base from which to explore and exploit this unknown sea. It was the threshold of a vast expansion. From the first small band of Spanish adventurers to enter the mighty Inca empire, to the execution of the last Inca forty years later, The Conquest of the Incas is a story of bloodshed, infamy, rebellion and extermination, told as convincingly as if it happened yesterday. 'It is a delight to praise a book of this quality which combines careful scholarship with sparkling narrative skill' Philip Magnus, Sunday Times 'A superbly vivid history' The Times