1 reactions
Lost Inca Heritage: Gold Melted Down & Destroyed for Idolatry
During the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, conquistadors melted down much of the precious-metal art—anthropomorphic statues, animal figurines, ritual vessels—to convert gold into ingots for transport . Numerous objects were also destroyed for being seen as “idolatrous” representations of Inca deities . Chronicles describe entire temples like Coricancha and sites like Pachacamac stripped of their golden art: the Spanish demolished buildings and melted artifacts, erasing centuries of religious and artistic legacy .
#history
During the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, conquistadors melted down much of the precious-metal art—anthropomorphic statues, animal figurines, ritual vessels—to convert gold into ingots for transport . Numerous objects were also destroyed for being seen as “idolatrous” representations of Inca deities . Chronicles describe entire temples like Coricancha and sites like Pachacamac stripped of their golden art: the Spanish demolished buildings and melted artifacts, erasing centuries of religious and artistic legacy .
#history
| 9,000 mlx | |
| 15 | |
| 1 |