ABSTRACT
South America is typically referred to as the solid landmass located to the south of the Western Hemisphere. With a rough triangular shape, which markedly narrows down from north to south, it covers almost seven million square miles. South America is generally divided in the Andean region (Northern, Central and Southern), the lowland tropical rainforests, and the coastal regions (Atlantic and Pacific). It is believed that the first inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere entered from Asia during the late Pleistocene through what is known today as the Bering Strait. These groups of nomads moved south through North America and reached the Andes. The adoption of a settled lifestyle, among other factors, eventually led to the emergence and development of rich and diverse indigenous cultures throughout South America, of which the Huari, Tiwanaku and Inca empires in the Andes are among the better known. Many of these indigenous cultures flourished until the Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) conquest of the 15th and 16th centuries. Yet, in spite of centuries of extermination, oppression and abandonment, many of them still struggle for survival, recognition and justice.1
