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National Geographic

THE COMPASS

This week's virtual field trip takes us to Peru. Within the mountains of Peru lies a wealth of ancient Inca temples, dramatic landscapes, and breathtaking Andean vistas. Learn about these stingless bees that make medicinal honey that some call a "miracle liquid," discover how ancient mummies helped a soccer player get to the World Cup, and join the high-altitude quest to save alpacas.

Stingless bees, also known as meliponine bees, surround a honey pot within their hives.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANA ELISA SOTELO

These stingless bees make medicinal honey. Some call it a ‘miracle liquid.’

In the Peruvian Amazon, native stingless bees are helping beekeepers and their communities by producing honey and pollinating local plants.

The Wari, who ruled much of coastal Peru between A.D 600-1000, drank a beer-like beverage known as chicha from these colorful vessels.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENNETH GARRETT, MUSEO NACIONAL DE ARQUELOGIA ANTROPOLOGIA E HISTORIA PERU

Did hallucinogenic booze fuel politics in ancient Peru?

A discovery in a 1,100-year-old Wari outpost suggests that powerful, communal intoxicants may have helped foster alliances.

POLITICAL PUNCH

Paolo Guerrero in action during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia match between France and Peru on June 21, 2018.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE JAY BARRATT, AMA VIA GETTY IMAGES

How ancient mummies helped this soccer player get to the World Cup

After Paolo Guerrero tested positive for cocaine, scientists used Inca mummies to argue that the result may have been influenced by something else.

500-YEAR-OLD EVIDENCE

ARCHAEOLOGISTS WORKING IN A 750-YEAR-OLD CITY RECENTLY DISCOVERED A SERIES OF WOODEN STATUES "PRESERVED" IN WHICH OF THESE?

A. SNAKE PEE
B. HUMAN SPIT
C. TERMITE POOP

CLICK TO SEE IF YOU'RE RIGHT!

At El Castillo de Huarmey, Peru, a team of Peruvian and Polish archaeologists excavated an intact royal tomb in 2013.

NEWSCOM / ALAMY / ACI

An intact tomb revealed royal secrets of an ancient people in Peru

Centuries before the Inca rose to power, the Wari ruled the coastal highlands of Peru. Many of their sites had been looted over the centuries. but a rare intact tomb gave rich insights into this mysterious civilization.

FILLING IN THE BLANKS

GOOD READS

1.

Meet the men who literally dance with scissors

2.

These stunning pictures revealed Machu Picchu to the world

3.

Gold is a toxic lure in the world’s highest settlement

4.

This suspension bridge is made from grass

Alina Surquislla Gomez cradles a baby alpaca.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALESSANDRO CINQUE

The high-altitude quest to save alpacas

The once-verdant mountain pastures where alpacas graze are drying out from climate change; scientists, herders, and activists are rallying to find solutions.

HELP IS ON THE WAY

WHERE WILL WE JOURNEY TO NEXT?

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