Excavating A Mountaintop City of Peru's First Empire Dig into the past of Peru’s ancient Andean empires with Field Museum Curator and archaeologist Dr. Patrick Ryan Williams and his distinguished team of fellow scientists. For the past seven years, they have led excavations at Cerro Baúl, a remote mountaintop citadel that was the sole point of contact between the Tiwanaku and the Wari—two great kingdoms whose dynamic relationship ultimately contributed to the rise of the Incan Empire. Join Dr. Williams and his team as they investigate the religious rites and ancient drinking rituals that linked two rival nations. The team’s findings will form the foundation for understanding how these competing empires successfully communicated with one other and chose cooperation over conflict. Perhaps their interactions may even provide a model for today’s global powers! Before you explore the Cerro Baúl expedition website, feel free to learn more about the history of the Tiwanaku and Wari Empires below. The Tiwanaku Empire The Wari Empire The Moquegua Vallery: Where Two Empires Met Religious Exchange Between Rivals Special Thanks