The Inca were one of the many groups of people living in the Peruvian Andes. Their empire was huge, encompassing many other tribes. Inca were very superstitious. They believed that all disease had a supernatural cause, and therefore must be cured by magic or by the gods. They used many herbal remedies as well as rituals. There were particular tribes who specialized in healing, and they acted as doctors for the other Andean people.

Typical remedies involved boiling bark, roots, or leaves, and applying the solution to the wound or inflamed joint to heal sores or dull pain. Other common treatments were purging and bleeding. Purging meant that the person was made to empty out his or her body by vomiting or emptying the bowels. This was done by giving special purgative herbs. Bleeding meant that a cut was made in the vein closest to where the pain was felt in the body. It was thought that allowing the blood to flow out would relieve the problem. For example, a headache might be treated by making a small cut between the eyebrows, above the bridge of the nose.