Astronomy in the Andes

The Andean peoples lived in a world that they considered to be animated by natural but also supernatural forces. These forces were believed to be present in both terrestrial and celestial objects. Given the importance it played in regulating the agrarian cycles of these peoples, the Sun was considered a supernatural power, and even before the advent of the Inca empire, this star was particularly honored on the islands of Lake Titicaca. Andean astronomy has long attracted the attention of researchers (see, for example, du Gourq, 1893; Antonialdi, 1942), but has aroused renewed interest since the end of the twentieth century (see, in particular, Aveni, 1979; Krupp, 1979, 1983; Urton, 1981a; Bauer & Dearborn, 1995; Gullberg, 2009, 2020).