In the exhibition, you really can see how many of these techniques that are thousands of years old are still being used. One of them is using the wreaths inte coast, on the northern coast of prud to create what are similar to surfing boards. But also, the culture didn't just disappear with the withthe coming of the spanish. In the 500 years colonization, the sp Spanish also had to adapt, and they took up some of the things that they learnt in the andes about surviving in theandes. En these cullurs are absolutely still alive and still vibrant.
The Nobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa’s latest novel revolves around the lies, schemes and vested interests that infected the development of Latin America. In Harsh Times (translated by Adrian Nathan West) a CIA-supported military coup topples the government of Guatemala, but the idea that the country was a Soviet satellite is shown up as manipulated fiction. Llosa tells Tom Sutcliffe about the murky tales of Cold War conspiracies that dominated at the time, and their legacy today.
Natalia Sobrevilla Perea is Professor of Latin American History at the University of Kent and looks at the impact of the Cold War proxy battles on countries like Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala and El Salvador. She highlights the power of the drug barons and the current Peruvian government’s war on corruption. Her research focuses on how historical events have set the stage for contemporary debates about how Andean nations should be governed and how to define citizenship.
But what of the land before outside interference? Peru: a journey in time is the latest exhibition at the British Museum and showcases the civilisations and societies that rose and fell in the remarkable landscapes of the Andes mountains. On display will be objects from the early culture of Chavin in 1200 BC to the Incas in the 16th century. The co-curator Jago Cooper says the ancient Peruvian societies had their unique approaches to economy, gender, power and beliefs, and they thrived against the odds up until the Inca conquest by the Spanish.
(Image: Funerary mask - Peru, Moche, AD 100–800. Museo de Arte de Lima. Donated by James Reid.)
Producer: Katy Hickman