The Inca Empire Ms. Carmelitano

Geography Located in South America in the Andes Mountains Capital: Cuzco in Peru Empire spanned from Chile to Ecuador Largest empire in the Americas

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Building an Empire There was already a history of culture in Peru The Chavin, Moche, and Nazca had previous civilizations in the Andes The Inca empire expands control over all of these lands

Early Inca The early Incas settled in the Valley of Cuzco By the1200’s CE they developed a small kingdom The Incas believed their ruler was a descendent from the sun god Inti Only men from one of 11 noble families could be chosen as leaders

Pachacuti Ruler 1438 AD Under his leadership, the Inca conquered all of Peru By 1500 CE the Inca empire encompassed 2,500 miles of land Through military campaigns and diplomacy Offered honorable surrender before attacking Showed tolerance to newly acquired lands “Land of the Four Quarters” – Population:16 million people

Government Territory was divided into provinces with one central Emperor Unifying characteristics: One official language: Quechua Clothing patterns identified people of different social classes Roads were built All roads lead to Cuzco Uniform architecture throughout the empire

Government Total control over the economic and social life of the people Ayllu: Governmental policy of mutual cooperation The practice of family units working together on tasks too big for one family Building irrigation canals, cutting terraces into hills, storing food The government divided families divided into groups of 10,100,1,000, 10,000 A chief was placed in charge of the group Each province paid tribute to the government mita – Every person was required to work for the government during the year The old and disabled were then supported by the government

Public works project Inca Road system Symbolized power of the empire 14,000 mile long system built through mountains and deserts Guesthouses built along the way for travelers Chasquis: an early postal service that used the roads to deliver oral messages

Record Keeping The Inca never developed a written language Used the quipu for accounting Contained a set of knotted strings Knots represented numbers, and the colors represented categories of information Red = warriors, yellow = gold Calendar system Two types: one for day and one for night Used for religious purposes Provided information about which gods ruled the day and which the night

Religion Reinforced power of the state Focused on gods of nature Moon good, star god, thunder god Viracocha: The Creator Inti: The sun god The ruler was considered a descendent of Inti Practices The Inca worshiped the sun (their emperor) Mamakuna: virgins of the sun Yamacuna: male priests Priests gave gifts to people as “presents of the gods” Animal sacrifice was practiced (llama)

Mummies Death was an important part of life The Inca believed in an afterlife The Inca worshiped the spirits of their dead ancestors They mummified their dead Royal mummies were taken to festivals even after their death Some had been human sacrifices

Inca Cities Cuzco Machu Picchu Capital city Location of the Temple of the Sun– most sacred Inca site Gilded in gold Machu Picchu Contained a temple to the sun and a massive plaza Historians argue about its use A religious site The estate of Pachacuti A resort for the rich

The end of an Empire 1500’s CE: Huayna Capac became emperor He died in 1520 while touring the newly acquired Ecuador The empire was split between his sons Atahualpa and Huascar The started a civil war for control Atahualpa won, but was ineffectual The Spanish arrived at the end of the war (Pizarro) They took advantage of the Inca’s weakened state, and conquered the empire