SCIENCE:
“Ancient Peruvians transported live parrots across the Andes”
Pre-Inca elites wore headdresses made of feathers from Amazonian macaws
10 MAR 2026 BY CHRISTINA LARSON
On Peru’s arid coast, some ancient elites signaled their power and standing by wearing headdresses festooned with brilliantly colored feathers from birds found in distant rainforests.
A new study reveals how they acquired these showy ornaments more than 800 years ago: from wild Amazonian parrots captured hundreds of kilometers away in the Amazon and transported, live, high over the Andes.
Learn more:
Ancient Peruvians transported live parrots across the Andes
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