How bird poo fuelled the rise of Peru’s powerful Chincha Kingdom

Islands off the coast of Peru are home to millions of seabirds. Their droppings were an important fertiliser for Indigenous people in the Andes. Jo Osborn

In 1532, in the city of Cajamarca, Peru, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and a group of Europeans took the Inca ruler Atahualpa hostage, setting the stage for the fall of the Inca Empire.

Before this fateful attack, Pizarro’s brother, Pedro Pizarro, made a curious observation: other than the Inca himself, the Lord of Chincha was the only person at Cajamarca carried on a litter, a carrying platform.