This drawing of the Cañete coast, which is based on a photo of a 1675 sketch, shows the Islas de Cañete, the port of Cañete, el Fraile (spelled frayle), and the Fortaleza de Guarco sitting atop Cerro Centinela (drawn with modifications by John Klausmeyer from ms. 120, Museo Naval, Madrid).

Nearly six centuries ago, after years of battle, the Inca used trickery to capture the Kingdom of Huarco, a coastal community in Peru. After their victory and the elimination of the residents, the Inca built three structures on the cliff overlooking the sea. Joyce Marcus, curator of Latin American archaeology at the UMMAA, tells the dramatic story of that capture—based on what we know from archaeological research and historic records—in an article recently published in Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology. Read the article here.