[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Since I am reading on my iPad, I have frequently been using wikipedia to look at images of the places mentioned so that I can visualize what it must have been like.

Spoiler:

I found the description of the Incas as civil engineers and the sophistication of the roads that they built as well as their organized system of "rest stops" and runners to carry messages very interesting. But those suspension bridges sound terrifying!

I find it sad to think about the great loss of artifacts to history as they were broken and melted down into gold and silver for their monetary value and the destruction of various Inca temples for the same purposes. There must have been some superb works of art. This quote had an impact on me.

Spoiler:

The King - who is considered a great patron of the arts - recorded no pleasure over these few lovely objects. They were entrusted to the royal jeweller after their brief public display, and were melted down, as were the other objects left in Seville.

Originally Posted by desertblues

Those suspension bridges, yes, that would be a no-go for me, if I knew it beforehand. But....when one has to cross, one crosses.....even me with my fear of heights. Who wants to be left behind?

I was thinking exactly the same thing about the golden objects....what a shame.

Yes--the fate of the artifacts was dreadful. Most of the few wonderful examples that survived exist only because the Conquistadores didn't find them.