Archaeologist Carole Fraresso Deciphers the Inca Civilization

Why did you choose the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris to shed light on 3,000 years of Andean history? This is a first in that it presents a long-lost civilization in a space dedicated to architecture, the city and sustainable development. The latest discoveries have revealed that the principles applied by the Incas of Machu Picchu in terms of architecture and urban, political and religious organization arose from a sensitive relationship to the environment, and profound respect for nature. So we felt this venue made sense for the presentation, in the heart of a Western capital, of a century's worth of research, excavations and analyses, which all have something to teach our contemporary societies. During its first stop, in Florida, the exhibition was staged in the Boca Raton Museum dedicated to contemporary art, where the purity and modernity of forms found in pre-Incan civilizations acted as a counterpoint to current works. In the same spirit, the exhibition will move next fall to Milan's Mudec (Museo delle Culture), home to the important pre-Columbian collection of the Italian-Peruvian explorer Antonio Raimondi.…