There is no doubt that in the course of this wholesale destruction a multitude of objects perished which would have given an historical clue to much of what now remains doubtful.  It is owing to this obliterative enthusiasm that such scanty historical knowledge exists concerning the earlier period of the Inca race, and of that highly civilized nation which preceded the later Children of the Sun.

It is, moreover, largely on account of this vagueness and uncertainty that some curiously wild theories have been propounded concerning the origin of the South Americans, and more especially of the Incas.  Thus, in 1843, George Jones, a writer who had indulged in some extraordinarily enthusiastic researches, published a work the object of which was to prove that not only the Mexicans, but all the tribes of Southern America, were the descendants of some old Tyrians who, fleeing from their enemies, abandoned Phoenicia and, sailing westward, landed in Central America, some 332 years before the birth of Christ!  It must be admitted that the structure—­even though it is purely of the imagination—­thus built up by the fertile author is sufficiently ingenious, and the number of Biblical data, similarities, and general phenomena, which he has brought to bear on the subject are impressive, if not convincing.

Peru was admittedly the richest country of South America, so far as historical relics are concerned.  Yet even here it is difficult in the extreme to glean any accurate information concerning the actual primitive inhabitants of the country.  Astonishingly little tradition of any kind exists, and the little to be met with is rendered comparatively valueless by the vivid imagination of the Indian; thus this period cannot be considered as historical in the real sense of the word.  A number of relics, it is true, prove the existence of an early form of civilization, the most numerous being found, as would naturally be expected when the nature of the country is considered, in the valleys and the coasts.  These relics take the forms of food substances and kitchen utensils, and are known as “kitchen-middens,” and beyond these rude fireplaces have been found.

In 1874 the skeleton of a tall man was discovered in a volcanic layer which is supposed to have belonged to a later period.  The dwelling in which it was found showed a distinct advance in civilization.  It was constructed of rocks joined together by means of clay, and roofed with plaited straw.  One of the most notable objects found by the side of this man was a well-fashioned cotton purse, filled with wheat and other grain.  In various neighbourhoods remnants of pottery and cloth gave evidence of these later stages.  After this it is supposed that a great invasion of Peru occurred, and that the race which preceded the Incas took possession of the land.

It will be most fitting to deal first of all with the Incas, the most highly civilized race of the Continent.  The head-quarters of this nation were to be found in Peru and Bolivia.  The capital of the whole Empire was Cuzco, a town situated at some distance to the north of Lake Titicaca.  Lake Titicaca is generally held to have been the cradle of the race, and it is in this neighbourhood and on the shores of the lake that some of the most notable of the Inca ruins are to be met with.