3000 BC Llamas and alpacas
The llama and the alpaca, two south American members of the camel family, are domesticated

2500 BC Farming undertaken in South America
At Huaca Prieta, the earliest known farming community in South America, squash, gourds and chili are cultivated

2000 BC Peruvian surgeons cut holes in skulls
Medicine men in Peru practise trephination, cuttting holes in the skulls of brave or foolhardy patients

900 BC Chávin de Huántar
Chávin de Huántar becomes the centre of the first civilization of south America

200 BC Nazca Lines in Peru
The earth drawings of the Nazca people, known now as the Nazca Lines, are some of the largest works of art ever created

200 BC Mochica pottery sculpture
The Mochica develop a civilization, in the north of modern Peru, known for its realistic pottery sculpture

200 Peruvians grow potatoes
The potato is cultivated in the Peruvian Andes

700 Quipu keeps tally
The quipu is used in the Wari culture and becomes the standard recording device of the Andean civilizations

800 Batán Grande as pilgrimage centre
Batán Grande, in northern Peru, becomes a great pilgrimage centre in the Sican culture

900 Chan Chan dominates Peru
Chan Chan, today the largest of the ruined Andean cities, dominates the entire length of Peru

1000 Inca people migrate
The Inca ethnic group migrates into the region of the Cuzco valley in Peru

1338 Dalai Lama dies but soon returns
The first Dalai Lama dies in 1338 and is discovered to have been reincarnated in a boy born in 1340

1438 Inca prince seizes throne
After a decisive victory over the Chanca people, a young Inca prince seizes the throne in Peru and takes the name Pachacuti

1440 Pachacuti in Cuzco
Cuzco, city of the Incas, grows rapidly in power after Pachacuti ('transformer of the earth') becomes emperor

1450 Characteristic Inca architecture
The massive architecture of the Incas, consisting of finely dressed irregular blocks of stone, becomes a feature of Cuzco

1450 Inca sun disc - Punchao
The most sacred of the Inca divinities, Punchao, is symbolized by a great golden disc representing the sun

1463 Incas conquer Chimu
The Chimu empire in Peru is conquered by the Incas under the leadership of Pachacuti's son Topa

1471 Topa is Inca emperor
Topa succeeds his father, Pachacuti, as emperor of the Incas

1487 Second Inca capital at Quito
The Inca empire is extended to the north and a second capital is established at Quito

1493 Huayna Capac is emperor
On Topa's death his son Huayna Capac succeeds to the throne as Inca emperor

1500 Machu Picchu in jungle
Even the remote city of Machu Picchu, on its peak above the jungle, is built in the massively precise Inca style of masonry

1500 Mamakuna and yanakuna
The female mamakuna and the male yanakuna are selected in childhood to serve the Inca state

1500 Extensive network of Inca roads
The Inca empire has about 25,000 miles of well-serviced roads, designed for caravans of llamas

1500 Llamas are the Inca sacrificial victims
In Cuzco's great temple, the sacrifices are usually of llamas, occasionally of humans

1525 Huayna Capac dies of smallpox
The Inca emperor, Huayna Capac, dies in an epidemic of a western disease, smallpox

1525 Atahualpa and Huáscar are rivals
Ruling respectively from Cuzco and Quito, Huáscar and Atahualpa compete for the empire of their father, Huayna Capac

1530 Pizarro sails to conquer Peru
Francisco Pizarro sails from Panama to attempt the conquest of Peru

1530 Atahualpa kills Huáscar
Atahualpa defeats and kills his half-brother Huáscar, thus winning control of the entire Inca empire

1531 Pizarro invades Inca territory
Francisco Pizarro leads 168 men, with about 30 horses, into the territory of the Inca empire

1532 Pizarro captures Inca
Pizarro and his tiny force ambush and massacre the Inca court in Cajamarca, capturing Atahualpa himself alive

1532 Room full of gold
Atahualpa agrees to buy his freedom from the Spaniards with a room full of gold and another of silver

1533 Ransom paid but Inca executed
Although the ransom has been paid, Atahualpa is executed by the Spaniards — who ensure that he dies a Christian

1533 Spaniards sack Cuzco
The Spanish conquistadors capture and sack the Inca capital of Cuzco, high in the Andes

1536 Manco Inca besieges Cuzco
Manco Inca begins a siege of the Spaniards in Cuzco that lasts for a year

1537 Siege of Cuzco ends
With the end of the siege of Cuzco, and the flight of Manco Inca, the Spanish have full control of Peru

1650 Dalai Lama identifies Panchen Lama
The Dalai Lama declares that his teacher is also an incarnation of a future Buddha, and that he is to be known as Panchen

1746 Earthquake damages Lima and Callao
An earthquake destroys much of Lima, and an ensuing tidal wave engulfs its port at Callao

1780 Uprising led by Inca descendant
An Indian uprising in Spanish Peru is led by a descendant of the Incas, Tupac Amaru II

1796 Nebular hypothesis by Laplace
French astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace publishes his nebular hypothesis, arguing that the planets formed from a mass of incandescent gas

1821 San Martin proclaims Peruvian independence
San Martín enters Lima and proclaims Peruvian independence with himself as 'Protector'

1822 San Martín bows out of Peru
After failing to agree with Bolívar at Guayaquil, San Martín resigns his post as Protector of Peru

1823 Bolívar takes control in Peru
Bolívar arrives in Lima to be granted command of the army and dictatorial powers in the republic of Peru

1824 Peru finally liberated
After the surrender of the Spanish army to Antonio José de Sucre at Ayacucho, Peru is finally liberated

1878 Swan demonstrates light bulb
English physicist Joseph Swan demonstrates a practical electric light bulb, using an incandescent carbon filament in a vacuum

1908 Leguía wins power in Peru
Augusto Leguía begins a long spell as the strong man of Peruvian politics

1911 Machu Picchu found
The lost Inca city of Machu Picchu is reached by US archaeologist Hiram Bingham

1919 Wilson incapacitated by stroke
President Woodrow Wilson suffers a severe stroke that renders him largely incapable during the final seventeen months of his presidency

1922 Lenin temporarily incapacitated by stroke
Lenin has a stroke, removing him for five months from active control of party and state

1947 Kon-Tiki
Thor Heyerdahl sets sail across the Pacific from Peru in a balsa wood boat, the Kon-Tiki

1962 Army prevents Haya presidency
The veteran left-wing politician Victor Haya is elected president of Peru but is thwarted by a coup led by General Ricardo Godoy

1978 Shining Path and Tupac Amaru
Shining Path and Tupac Amaru emerge as left-wing guerrilla groups in Peru

1985 Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John
Antiguan author Jamaica Kincaid publishes her first novel, Annie John

1990 Fujimori election victory
Alberto Fujimori and his newly formed Cambio 90 party win a surprise election victory in Peru

1996 Hostages seized in Lima
Tupac Amaru guerrillas take 460 guests hostage at the Japanese ambassador's Christmas party in Lima, Peru

2000 Britain returns Pinochet to Chile
The British Home Secretary, Jack Straw, judges Augusto Pinochet mentally incapable to stand trial and returns him to Chile

2000 Fujimori resigns in Peru
Alerto Fujimori resigns after a corruption scandal during his third term as president of Peru