To outsiders ancient South America is synonymous with the Incas. Originally a small unremarkable group, the Incas, under their leader Pachacuti, conquered most of their known world within a single lifetime. But before the Incas there were some ten millennia of prehistory, centuries in which great civilizations rose flourished and, inevitably, fell.

Chavin, with its fanged gods and hallucinogenic drugs; Huam, a massive militaristic state; the Manteno, who held the most valued substance of the Andes in their power; the Quimbaya, who developed the most beautiful gold work the world has ever seen - all were part of the unique history of the continent. Ancient South America provides an incisive view of this exotic continent and its remarkable past. The origins of agriculture, ceramics and metallurgy and the complexities of Andean mythology are covered clearly and non-dogmatically, as are developments in the tropical regions of the continent.

The contributions of these cultures to modern civilizations are enormous yet still little appreciated.