History and Culture: The early days

The first settlers arrived in Peru about 20,000 years ago. They used stone instruments and were hunter-gatherers. Some of them were based in Paccaicasa (Ayacucho). Ancient Peruvians (7,000 years) were said to have wide faces, extended heads and measure just over five feet tall. The first Peruvians have left samples of their rock art in Toquepala (Tacna, 7,600 B.C.) and of their housing in Chilca (Lima, 5,800 B.C.)

The pre-Incan cultures were based on the coast and in the highlands of Peru over the course of 1400 years. Due to their power and influence, some of these cultures covered great areas of the Peruvian territory; after their decline small regional centers blossomed. Characterized by their particular ritual-ceramic, by a surprising ability to adapt to their environment and by their excellent way of handling natural resources as well as a great body of knowledge which was exploited and preserved by the Incan culture which followed them.

Amongst the most important pre Inca cultures it is important to mention the following in chronological order: Chavin de Huantar, Paracas, Moche, Tiahuanaco, Nasca, Wari, Chimu and Chachapoyas.

The Inca culture (1,500 B.C.) was the most important civilization in South America. Its economic organization, distribution of wealth, and artistic manifestations and architecture made a strong impression on the first chronicle writers. The Incas adored the earth (Pachamama) and the sun (Inti). The Inca, sovereign of the Tahuantinsuyo was considered a sacred one and a son of the sun, this is why the legend of the origin of the Incas tells us a story about the sun sending its children (Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo or the four Ayar brothers and their spouses) to found the sacred city of Cusco and the center of Tahuantinsuyo (the four parts of the world.)

The Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo extended itself as far as Colombia and almost all of Ecuador and Peru, as well as Chile, Bolivia and Northern Argentina.

The encounter of the Incan and Spanish cultures began with the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. In 1532 Francisco Pizarro’s followers captured the Inca Atahualpa in Cajamarca. The native population decreased in the first decades and later on in 1542 the Peruvian Vice Regency was created, after a confrontation between the conquerors and the Spanish crown. Until the seventeenth century the Peruvian Vice Regency covered territories extending from Panama up to Tierra del Fuego in today’s Argentina.

In 1821 Don Jose de San Martín declared Peru an independent nation; and by 1824 Simón Bolívar had won the last of the independence wars. In the nineteenth century and in spite of the efforts to organize the young Peruvian Republic, the country had to face the cost of war. Peru faced an economic crisis and the power of the military grew strong and gave civilians few chances to govern.

Towards the year 1860 and thanks to the income from guano, cotton and sugar, the Peruvian government freed African slaves and indigenous laborers; leaving Chinese and European immigrants to handle most of the manual labor. The country became unified and organized with the construction of railroads during president’s Manuel Prado mandate; the first civil regime of Peru. At the end of the nineteenth century the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Peru.

In 1879 the country faced war with Chile. Peru’s defeat left the country bankrupt. After a new spell of military power, civilians returned to rule Peru, giving rise to the "Aristocratic Republic" period.  At this stage the economy was dominated by the land-owning elite and an export-oriented economy was implanted. This was also a stage of great success for the exportation of rubber.