So our little gold llama is a rare survivor. Gold was the emblem of the great Inca sun-god, and represented his generative powers. Gold was described as "sweat of the sun" just as silver was the ...

On a sun-washed July afternoon, Brian Bauer, an archaeologist from the University of Illinois at Chicago, stands in the plaza of the sprawling Inca ceremonial site of Maukallacta, south of Cusco.