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AP Art History · Unit 5: Indigenous Americas

5.2 Andean South America

The Inca

The Inca built Machu Picchu high in the Andes, with precise ashlar masonry — stones cut so exactly they need no mortar. Their empire linked cities by vast roads.

Earlier cultures

Earlier Andean peoples like the Chavín and Nazca made stone reliefs, ceramics, and the giant Nazca lines. The Paracas and others wove extraordinary textiles.

Textiles as wealth

In the Andes, textiles were among the most valued art forms — carriers of status, identity, and meaning, sometimes valued above gold.

Key terms

Inca
Andean empire; built Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Inca mountain city; precise ashlar masonry
Ashlar masonry
stones cut to fit without mortar
Nazca lines
giant desert geoglyphs of the Nazca
Andean textiles
prized art carrying status and meaning

Try an AP-style question

The Inca used ashlar masonry, meaning…

  1. loose rubble piled without shaping
  2. stones cut to fit tightly without mortar
  3. wooden frames covered with plaster
  4. bricks joined together with cement
Show the answer

B. Earthquake-resistant.

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