Before Spanish conquistadors discovered South America, the Incas ruled the largest empire on the continent from their capital in what is now Peru.  They kept records using a system of knotted ropes called quipus, constructed awe-inspiring stone buildings without the aid of modern technology (or even the wheel),  and conquered a territory that stretched from modern-day Ecuador to Chile.

Today, other than small artifacts like ceramics and the mysterious quipus, all that remains of the Incan Empire is a series of deserted temples and cities surrounded by jungle. 

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