Kusi and the Inca Earthquake Selected for the Year of Geosciences

For over thirty years, French teams from the Research Institute for Development (IRD) have been working on assessing natural hazards and risks in Peru. In close collaboration with the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute of Peru (INGEMMET), they study extreme geological events such as earthquakes and landslides.

It is in this context that Le Gardien de Cusco : Kusi et le séisme Inca (“Kusi and the Inca Earthquake”) was born ; a children’s book based on research conducted in Cusco since 2017, a city of over 500,000 inhabitants. While the story takes place far from France, the French version shares the same goal : to spark curiosity and raise young people’s awareness of natural disasters.

The book draws directly on the scientific work of Andy Combey, Laurence Audin, Carlos Benavente, Thérèse Bouysse-Cassagne, Léo Marconato, and Lorena Rosell, published in the article Evidence of a large “prehistorical” earthquake during Inca times ? New insights from an indigenous chronicle (Cusco, Peru). Their research offers a new reading of an indigenous chronicle, revealing evidence of a major earthquake during the Inca period.

We are pleased to announce that “Kusi and the Inca Earthquake” has been selected as a resource for the Year of Geosciences and is now featured on the iNSU CNRS website ; a wonderful recognition highlighting the importance of bringing science and young audiences together.