From 100 facts for 100 years of Machu Picchu - Fact #7

By Catharine Hamm | Los Angeles Times Travel Editor
 
7. Much of what we know -- or think we know -- about the Inca society is hazy and often mixes fact with myth.

Since the Incas did not have a written language much of their history was passed down through stories.  When the Spanish arrived in Peru, the earliest documented history of the Incas was prepared by Spanish who told the Inca History from their own perspective.

The earliest account of Inca life is the book Narrative of the Incas by Juan de Betanzos written in the 1550's however only recently fully translated.  Much of Juan de Betanzos account of the Inca life came from his wife Angelina Anas Yupanqui the daughter of Incan King Wayna Capac and who had previously been married to King Atahualpa as well as the man who killed him Francisco Pizzaro.