Tommie Sue Montgomery

Before the Incas Tommie Sue Montgomery

For visitors to Trujillo, Lima, and Pisco/Paracas, and Nasca along Peru's Pacific coast, this guide fills a gap among travel guides by providing detailed information for 16 archaeological sites of six pre-Inca cultures that are often overlooked by visitors. Organized geographically from north to south--except for the first section that focuses on Bandurria, Caral, and Vichama, the oldest urban civilizations in the Americas--Dr. Montgomery discusses the history, culture, art, and achievements of three Pre-ceramic cultures, the Moche, Chimú, Lima, Ischma, and Nasca cultures, in addition to providing detailed visitor information for each site. After the section on pre-ceramic civilizations, the Trujillo region is the first stop with a focus on the Moche sites of Huaca de la Luna and El Brujo along with the Chimú sites of Chan Chan and Huaca Arcoiris. In the greater Lima area, four sites belonging to the Lima culture (Pachacamac, Huaca Pucllana, Huallamarca, and Cajamarquilla) and two Ischma culture sites (Purucucho and Mateo Salado) are discussed. There is also a section on the Larco museum, home to the greatest collection of Moche art in the world. The last section focuses on the Nasca, with information for those wishing to arrange flights over the Nasca lines, along with the Nasca ceremonial centre of Cahuachi, Cantalloc--the aqueducts--Las Agujas, and El Telar, both with geometric lines close to Nasca city. Also included is Paradones, the Inca administrative outpost in Nasca. The Maria Reiche Museum, home of the German-Peruvian who devoted her life to studying the Nasca Lines, in San Jose, is discussed. The guide includes general tips for visitors to Peru with specific information for cruise ship passengers docking at Salaverry (Trujillo), Callao (Lima) and Puerto San Martín (Paracas). There is also a three-page list of useful Spanish phrases with pronunciation guide and blank pages for your own notes.