Editing History of South America (section)

===Andean civilizations===

====Chavín====
[[File:World in 500 BCE.png|thumb|220px|Overview map of the world in 500 BC, showing [[Chavín culture|Chavín]], [[Paracas culture|Paracas]], [[Chorrera culture|Chorrera]] and their neighbors]]
The [[Chavín culture|Chavín]], a South American preliterate civilization, established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called [[Chavín de Huantar]] in modern [[Peru]] at an elevation of 3,177 meters.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.cyark.org/chavn-de-huntar-info |title=Chavín de Huántar Information |access-date=2018-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111161231/http://archive.cyark.org/chavn-de-huntar-info |archive-date=2018-01-11 }}</ref> Chavín civilization spanned 900 to 200 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Chavin_Civilization/|title=Chavin Civilization|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref>

====Moche====
[[File:Ande centrali, costa del nord, moche, contenitore a forma di testa-ritratto, 200-850 dc ca. 02.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Moche portrait vessel]], c. 200—850 AD]]
The [[Moche (culture)|Moche]] thrived on the north coast of Peru between the first and ninth century CE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Moche_Civilization/|title=Moche Civilization|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref> The heritage of the Moche comes down to us through their elaborate burials, excavated by former UCLA professor [[Christopher B. Donnan]] in association with the [[National Geographic Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Rich-Tombs-From-Moche-Culture-Uncovered-2160 |title=Rich Tombs from Moche Culture Uncovered on Peruvian Coast &#124; UCLA |access-date=2018-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115002416/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Rich-Tombs-From-Moche-Culture-Uncovered-2160 |archive-date=2018-01-15 }}</ref>

Skilled artisans, the Moche were a technologically advanced people who traded with faraway peoples, like the [[Maya civilization|Maya]]. Knowledge about the Moche has been derived mostly from their ceramic pottery, which is carved with representations of their daily lives. They practiced human sacrifice, had blood-drinking rituals, and their religion incorporated non-procreative sexual practices (such as fellatio).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Moche|title=Moche &#124; ancient South American culture|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AaddAAAAQBAJ&q=moche+fellatio&pg=RA1-SA2-PA56 |title = Sex, Death, and Sacrifice in Moche Religion and Visual Culture|isbn = 9780292783188|last1 = Bourget|first1 = Steve|date = 2010-06-28| publisher=University of Texas Press }}</ref>

====Inca====
Holding their capital at the great puma-shaped city of [[Cuzco]], the [[Inca civilization]] dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as ''Tawantin suyu'', or "the land of the four regions," in [[Quechua languages|Quechua]], the Inca civilization was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some 9 to 14 million people connected by a 25,000-kilometre [[Inca road system|road system]]. Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. [[Terrace farming]] was a useful form of agriculture. There is evidence of excellent metalwork and successful [[Trepanation in Mesoamerica|skull surgery]] in Inca civilization. The Inca had no written language, but used [[quipu]], a system of knotted strings, to record information.<ref>{{Cite encyclopaedia|entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/quipu|entry=quipu: Incan counting tool|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2017-10-13|language=en}}</ref> Ongoing Kiphu research suggests that the Inca used a phonetic system as a form of writing in the kiphu.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hyland |first=Sabine |title=Writing with Twisted Cords: The Inscriptive Capacity of Andean Khipus |journal=Current Anthropology |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691682 |date=June 2017 |volume=58 |number=3 |pages=412–419 |doi=10.1086/691682 |issn=0011-3204|hdl=10023/12326 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>