The presence or absence of ancestor worship relates in a general way to the importance of kinship in the societies concerned. In the primitive world society is ordered and life made possible through bonds of kinship, though intergenerational continuity of kinship extending to deceased forebears may not be regarded as important. Among societies of higher levels of cultural complexity, the importance of kinship and the size of actively functioning kin groups decreases.

Chinchorro - the first to make mummies

Wari and Inca

Temples for Mummies

Pachacuti and Elevating Ancestor Worship into a Divine King

Talking to the Dead