# Engineering in the Andes Mountains: History and Design of Inca Suspension Bridges

John Ochsendorf discussed engineering in the Andes mountains. In this difficult terrain, the enginners of the Inca Empire built suspension bridges of natural fiber to span wide canyons and bridges. These remarkable bridges connected an extensive network of roads and were essential for the organization of the empire. Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century marveled at the Inca bridge technology, which was unknown to them and which spanned longer distances than any bridges in Europe at the time. Many Inca bridges survived through the 19th century, and one is still in use today in a remote region of Peru. Georgette Dorn, chief of the Hispanic Division, welcomed the audience to the Library of Congress. Joann Pillsbury, director of the Pre-Columbian Program at Dumbarton Oaks, introduced the speaker.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2005
- By: Library Of Congress. Hispanic Division
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687736/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021687736?play=1)