The Inca civilization emerged in 1438 in pre-Columbian America and established the largest empire in South America centered in Cusco, Peru. The Inca Empire was conquered by Spanish forces in 1572. Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca city located high in the Andes mountains in Peru, became renowned as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is often referred to as the "lost city of the Incas". The ancient Incas studied the stars and constellations and gave names to formations in the Milky Way galaxy.