The Incans

The Incan Civilization Begins Incas began as a small tribe in the Andes Mountains in South America around the same time period as the Aztecs Capital City: Cuzco (located in what is now Peru) Pachacuti, ruler of the Incas in the mid 1400s-expanded the Civilization into an empire 12 million people lived in the Inca empire that stretched from present day Ecuador to central Chile

Life in the Incan Empire Incan society was government controlled-similar to communism-little freedoms Upper class: Emperor, government officials, priests Lived in stone houses, wore the best clothes, did not pay taxes, enjoyed Inca retreat, Machu Picchu Lower class: Farmers, artisans and servants, no slaves Grew maize, peanuts and potatoes on carved terraces Raised llamas for wool and meat

A well organized economy The Incan government controlled the economy-similar to a command economy Told each household what to make or grow No market or merchants People paid taxes in form of labor-Mita Government collected and distributed goods through the Mita-only got what you needed Extra kept in case of emergency, disaster or poor crop

Religion Worshipped many gods Thought rulers were related to the gods and never died Mummify former kings, brought to religious ceremonies Rarely performed human sacrifices When they did, usually children Instead would sacrifice llamas or offer food and cloth to the gods Believed things in nature, mountains, rocks, springs had magical powers

Cultural Achievements Masonry (stonework) Major network of roads Artisans made pottery, jewelry, made a life size cornfield out of gold Weaved textiles (cloth) No writing system Quipus-knots of yarn in different color at different length, used to keep records language-Quechua

Keeping records Incan textiles

End of the Incas-Pizarro Conquers 1520’s, -after the death of their leader a civil war began (fighting within the empire to see who would rule) Two brothers fought for the throne (Atahualpa and Huascar) 1534, Atahualpa won the civil war, but the empire was weakened Francisco Pizarro w/ 180 Spanish soldiers Greatly outnumbered but attacked Captured Atahualpa and demanded 24 tons of gold, killed him anyway By 1537, Pizarro defeats the last of the Inca, Spanish control the empire for the next 300 years