The significance of gold in Inca civilization

Among the Incas, a highly developed civilization in 13th-16th century South America, gold was believed to be the sweat of the sun. The sun was sacred, and the official religion was the sun cult. These people began working gold in pre-Incan times. The Moche of modern-day Peru were, for example, already practicing gold-working techniques at the start of the first millennium and were making objects containing several kilograms of gold. Historians are certain that the gold riches of the Incas were of legendary proportions.

These indigenous people were master goldsmiths. They used to blow pipes to fan the flames in their simple ovens so they could smelt this precious metal. For the Inca gold was also the blood of Viracocha, their sun god. He is now commonly considered the chief god, at least in pre-Incan cultures. Gold was sacred. It was greatly prized in cult, but had no material value. The craft of working gold was a religious ritual.

Using rudimentary tools, these native South Americans crafted incomparable works of art. They decorated temples throughout their empire with gold, it is said that even the walls of their halls of worship were gilded inside and out. Among the living only the king was allowed to wear gold jewellery as proof that he was of divine birth. Even wealthy members of the nobility had to wait until they had been put in their burial chambers to surround themselves with gold. The Incas believed the creator, a light-skinned god, would return to earth. He had taken his leave of them, heading over the ocean and would return one day, emerging from the sunset. Until that happened, all that remained for them to do was to glorify him with gilded artistic renderings.