depicts the marriages of two Inka princesses—the last survivors of the Inka royal line— to Spanish grandees. On its surface, it seems to document the placid progress of mestizaje in Spanish America.

And in the Inca heartland, a small army of men and women toiled to construct a royal estate for Huayna Capac and his family. At the king's bidding, they moved the Urubamba River to the southern ...

Incest also protects royal assets. Marrying family members ensures that a king ... In dominant, centralized societies such as ancient Egypt or Inca Peru, this can mean limiting the mating circle ...