Inca The Inca controlled a vast empire covering parts of modern day Peru, Ecudor, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
Find the Incan Empire on your map and color it in.
April 02, 2014 Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire. Quechua was the language. Any conquered or joining groups had to learn this language. Label Machu Picchu and Cuzco (Cusco) on your map
Machu Picchu Panoramic View
*Incan empire stretched more than 2,500 miles. *Rainless desserts, towering mountain ranges, rain forests. *Climate varied from tropical to polar. *6 MIllion people to feed Built in the mid 1400's for the Sapa Inca Sapa Inca and Nobles lived here and there were great temples for worship. Terracing and irrigation used to farm Grew: Quinoa (grain), potatoes and corn
Agricultural Techniques Terracing allowed the Inca to provide food for more than six million people. Terraces are typically 5-13 feet high with varied length and width according to the steepness of the mountain. Usually they are wider at the bottom of the incline and get narrower as they go up the mountain. To irrigate the fields they built channels to bring water from the glacier-fed rivers. They also straightened rivers, filled or drained marshes as needed, and channeled water into deserts.
Inca grew corn, potatoes, and quinoa (a grain). Potatoes were the main food eaten daily. We can thank the Inca for introducing us to this food! In order to eat all winter long, they used a method to freeze dry the potatoes to later be ground into flour. It would last for years and was easy to store!
Communication Ruling an empire of this size required good communication. The telephone didn't exist, so messengers had to travel from town to town. Although they never used the wheel, the Inca built over 14,000 miles of road, much of it paved. Many of these roads still exist and are used today. You needed special permission to travel on the roads since they belonged to the government. The army would use the roads to quickly stop rebellions or protect themselves from intruders. Llama trains would travel the roads delivering food or other resources.
The Andes mountains did not make travel easy. Messengers had to cross deep gorges and rivers. So the Inca built suspension bridges, pontoon bridges and sometimes hung a basket on a cable to pull people across the gorge.
Building roads was one way farmers could pay their "service tax" to the government. Suspension bridges were made of woven reed and were replaced every other year. These pictures are of the Qeswechaka bridge near Cuzco, the last surviving Inca rope bridge. It is still rebuilt annually out of grass. Villiagers gather for four days to continue this 700 year old tradition.
Quipu The Inca had no writing or number system. Instead they used the quipu to record information. This was a series of knotted, colored strings hung from one main cord. Each color had a meaning, such as "corn" or "speeches by the king." Knots were tied in each string to indicate numbers in a decimal system.
Chasquis (pronounced kas kee) The Inca set up a network of messengers by which important messages would be conveyed along these roads. These messengers were known as Chasquis and were chosen from the strongest and fittest male youngsters. They ran many miles a day to relay messages. They lived in cabins or tambos along the roads usually in groups of four or six. When a chasqui was spotted, another one would run to meet him. He would run beside the incoming messenger trying to listen and to memorize the message, he would also relay the quipu if he was carrying one. The tired chasqui would stay and rest in the cabin while the other one will run to the next relay station. In this way messages could travel over 250 miles a day.
Religion Incas believed in Polytheism They believed that on each mountain peak a god or goddess lived.priests presided over human sacrifices (rare) or animal sacrifices (llama and guinea pig)during ceremonies and rituals held in the temples. There was a special ceremony held each of the 12 months in their calendar. Priests believed that they could find magic signs in everyday objects to help prepare for the future (farming, weather, decisions, etc.)
Social Structure Sapa Inca was believed to be a descendant of the gods. Nobles were chosen by the Sapa Inca. They used gold to decorate the palace, the home of the Inca. Priests mummified the bodies of the dead Sapa Inca and lived in a period of mourning for 30 days. Those mummies were then worshiped. Most Royalty and Nobility were members of the Sapa Inca's family.
Fall of an Empire The Inca's had little contact with the Mayans or Aztecs. They were unaware of the Spanish conquests until it was too late. After the death of a Sapa Inca in 1525 a great civil war broke out over the 2 brothers who who wanted to be then next ruler. When Atahualpa won, he ordered the death of thousands of his brothers soldiers and his family. At this time, there were reports of strangers among the tribe. The spanish landed on the coast in 1532 in search for gold. They brought with them horses, armor, cannons and guns. The Inca's believed these men may have been gods and met them unarmed. There was a great ambush that resulted in the death of thousands of Incas and the imprisonment of the Sapa Inca. He was later strangled to death under the Inca defeat.