At the time of the conquest Argentina did not possess a large indigenous population. Wandering tribes dwelt in all parts of the country from Tierra del Fuego to Brazil, but the proportion of these Indians was very small when compared with the extent of territory occupied. On the slopes of the Andes were found tribes that were very closely allied with and subject to the Incas, who ruled all along the Pacific coast from Ecuador to Chile, and there was continuous intercourse between them. No ruins of temples dedicated to the sun have been found in Argentina, although some reminders of the Inca civilization have been uncovered in the northwestern part of the republic. The principal strongholds of the native tribes were in the northeastern sections of the country, on the rich plains and low hills which border on the great rivers of the country. Indians who were related to the Tupi-Guarani tribes who inhabited Brazil, had established themselves there in considerable numbers. These Indians were not so bloodthirsty as those in the extreme south, although some of them were given to cannibalism. Their slaying of human beings, however, was for the purpose of food and not as a part of their religious worship. They were not especially hostile to the incoming Spaniards, until the members of the tribes began to be impressed into slavery, and they then resisted the advance of that race in a feeble way. Their religion was simple and consisted of a few good deities and a number of evil ones. The former they tried to honour in their simple way, but a great deal more attention was given to appeasing the latter, in order to avoid physical suffering, for which they believed these malevolent deities were responsible. Theirs was an ignorant belief and a simple faith, and they rather welcomed the teachings of the priests who first came among them. The new doctrines were accompanied by ceremonies which appealed to their childlike natures. The chanting in an unknown but sonorous tongue, the visible emblems and the incense cast a spell over these simple people, who did not attempt to grasp the abstract idea of a trinity or the sacrifice of a Saviour. [Illustration: CHURCH IN CORRIENTES, BUILT IN 1588]