Different types of potatoes seed are seen displayed in "Parque de la Papa" or Potato Park, in Pisac, Peru. One hundred and fifty type of tubers from the Sacred Valley highlands are native to Peru. Martin Mejia/AP hide caption
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Three Mexican farmers, called chinamperos, navigate a trajinera, a small traditional boat of the area, through water canals on Xochimilco Lake, Mexico, in June. Victoria Razo for NPR hide caption
An artistic rendering of the retreat of Hernán Cortés from Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, in 1520. The Spanish conquistador led an expedition to present-day Mexico, landing in 1519. Although the Spanish forces numbered some 500 men, they managed to capture Aztec Emperor Montezuma II. The city later revolted, forcing Cortés and his men to retreat. Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images hide caption
500 Years Later, The Spanish Conquest Of Mexico Is Still Being Debated
At the end of practice at the Xochikalli cultural center in Mexico City, ulama ballgame players perform a brief dedication to Aztec gods. James Fredrick for NPR hide caption
A skull discovered at a sacred Aztec temple. A new study analyzed DNA extracted from the teeth of people who died in a 16th century epidemic that destroyed the Aztec empire, and found a type of salmonella may have caused the epidemic. Alexandre Meneghini/AP hide caption
Archaeologists working at the Templo Mayor site of Aztec ruins in Mexico City, in August 2015. Scientists say the remains of women and children are among those found at a main trophy rack of human skulls, known as "tzompantli." Hector Montano/AP hide caption
