The Incas did not leave any written word.

The only testimony comes from the first conquistadores who collected the natives’ tales. Successors, among others, to brilliant civilisations preceding them, the Incas were originally a small tribe from the Quechua region on the bank of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia.

They are part of a confederation of several groups, occupying at first a subordinate rank.

The confederation relied on two clans, the Hanan detaining political power, and the Hurin, the military power of which the Incas were part of. This shared power explains the Inca group’s rise to power by force.

It is only in during the mid-14th century that the Incas create a state bearing their name. Cuzco was the Inca capital for a long time, being the crossroads of the trans-Andean economical axis. It died down when economical activity turned towards Lima.

Machu Pichu is the ancient Inca city, dating back to the 15th century, perched on a rocky headland on the eastern central Andes.

Listed since 1983 on the UNESCO’s world heritage sites, it is also one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Looking at the Incas’ daily lives, their rites and religious cults, we will explore the mystery and legends of this lost civilisation.

Why human sacrifices, why gold is the Inca’s symbolic metal, why worship the Sun? In this documentary we will attempt to solve these questions, with the help of experts on Latin America: Jean-Francois Bouchard, Patrice Lecoq and Carmen Bernand.

Directed by Jacques VICHET