The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time - Softcover

Sullivan, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0517888513 ISBN 13: 9780517888513

Publisher: Crown, 1997

Synopsis

In the tradition of Fingerprints of the Gods (Crown, 1995; 65,000 sold) and Stonehenge Decoded, this revolutionary new interpretation of the mythology of the Incas offers an astonishing "history of prehistory".

At its peak, the Inca empire was the largest on Earth. Yet in the year 1532, it was conquered by fewer than 200 Spanish adventurers. How could this happen? Approaching the answer clue by clue, William Sullivan decodes the myths of the Incas to reveal that they embody an astoundingly precise record of astronomical events.

In the 15th century, the Inca priest-astronomers read the sky and saw signs of an apocalypse. So the Incas took a desperate gamble: If events in the heavens could influence those on Earth, perhaps the reverse was true. In The Secret of the Incas, Sullivan shows that the Inca rituals of warfare and human sacrifice were nothing less than an attempt to stop time, to forestall the cataclysm that would sweep away their world. This is a work of rare erudition and imagination that will reshape our understanding of the past.

About this title

About the Author:

William Sullivan holds a BA from Harvard College and a doctorate from the Centre of Amerindian, Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of St. Andrews. He lives in Massachusetts.

Synopsis:

Analyzes Inca mythology in light of the historical events that transformed their world at the time of the arrival of Spanish conquistadors.

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0517888513
• ISBN 13: 9780517888513
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464