PIERCING STARE

Funerary masks, placed over the faces of the dead, were a common feature of South American civilizations. This hammered gold mask, painted and decorated with smaller pieces of gold-including two needles jutting menacingly from the eyes- was probably made for a wealthy Chimu nobleman. Found near the Chimu capaital of Chan Chan in northwestern Peru, it is thought to date from the early 15th century.

ROYAL HABIT

Centuries before cocaine became known in the West, the leaves of the coca plant(Erythroxylon coca), from which cocaine is derived, were being chewed by the  Incas. Originally reserved for the Inca kings and leading nobles, the habit spread to commoners after the Spanish conquest. Chewing the leaves diminishes hunger, increases stamina, and counteracts the effects of exertion at high elevations.Andean Indians today still chew coca leaves.

SKULL SURGERY

In the Inca empire, priests doubled as doctors and surgeons and appear to have been able to carry out some difficult operations. The remains of some Inca skulls, for instance, show that the  priests knew  how to  perform the operation known as trepanning – cutting a hole in the  skull. It is uncertain whether the operation was performed to relieve pressure caused by injury or to release evil spirits, but it seems likely that coca was used as an anesthetic.

SAY IT WITH KNOTS

Ignorant  of written numbers, the Incas devised an ingenious counting method based on knotted cords called quipus. The system, which is still used by Peruvian peasants, made use of single knots, double knots, and slip knots with loops to represent numbers. Different-colored cords  identified subjects, such as tax and census information, and even historical records.

Official messages were memorized and delivered by  relays of runners, or chasquis, who could cover 150 miles in a single day. In this postal service, established by Pachacuti Yupanqui and made possible by the empire’s efficient road network, pairs of chasquis were stationed in roadside huts about every 2 miles. When a runner approached a hut, he shouted out his message, and a relief chasqui took off for the next hut. Complex messages were sent by quipus