Rituals, rats, and reeded vertebrae! The mysteries of Machu Picchu and Ancient Peru revealed

A story of continents crashing and cleaving apart, the making of a civilisation, the language of the dead, and ... a mummified rat makes a cameo too. The Incan empire was vast and sophisticated. It built the stunning citadel in the clouds of Machu Picchu in the Andes mountains. But within a century its people were catastrophically wiped out by the onslaught of the Spanish conquistadors. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with two intrepid researchers — an archaeologist and a leading mammalogist — to hear what amazing discoveries continue to be made in Peru and South America. Thanks to the Australian Museum for hosting and producing this event. Speakers Professor Kris HelgenChief ScientistDirector of the Australian Museum Research InstituteAustralian Museum Dr Jacob BongersArchaeologist University of Sydney Further information: Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires exhibition Assembling the dead: human vertebrae-on-posts in the Chincha Valley, Peru Painting personhood: Red pigment practices in southern Peru