Chapter 7 Early Peoples of South America Lesson 3 The Inca

A Vast Empire Built the largest richest empire the Americas had ever seen. The name Inca was originally the title given to the emperor. Empire stretched down the western side of the Andes Mountains.

A Vast Empire Cont. Much of what he know about the Inca’s comes from the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. This city had over 140 granite buildings and may have been home to some 1,000 people. Many of the buildings may have been temples and they have uncovered many mummies. So the city may have been a religious center.

A Vast Empire Cont. The first Inca ruler was Manco Capac who came from Lake Titicaca. They settled in the city of Cuzco, which was their capital for the life of the empire.

An Empire is Born The eighth Inca ruler was Inca Viracocha. In 1438 A.D. the Inca were attacked by a powerful people from the north the, Chancas. Fearing that it was impossible to defeat them Viracocha fled.

An Empire is Born Cont. One of Viracocha’s sons, Pachacuti, stayed and fought. (See Bio p.203) According to legend Pachacuti called out to the stones of the battlefield. The stones rose up and turned into soldiers to help the Inca defeat the Chancas.

An Empire is Born Cont. Pachacuti then became emperor and began to expand the Inca world. In an effort to curb resistance, if a group was taken over they would then be separated into different Inca settlement. Also became a great builder, building many great buildings in Cuzco.

An Empire is Born Cont. In 1471 A.D. his son Topa Inca became emperor. Through warfare he doubled the size of the Inca empire. In just over 50 yrs. he and his father had turned the Inca empire into one of the greatest empires in the Americas.

Empire Builders When the Inca conquered new peoples and territories they allowed the old rulers to stay in power. This kept government running efficiently in those area’s. The old rulers could rule as long as they were loyal to the Inca and for this reason they saw little reason to revolt.

Empire Builders Cont. These rulers and their people did pay some taxes in the form of land or services. Most people had to work on government building projects such as roads and others were required to serve in the army.

An Empire is Born Cont. The empire had a very structured chain of command to make sure to keep the empire together this included province governors, and traveling inspectors. The Inca never developed a system of writing. But through their use of a quipu they did keep government records on orders, taxes, crop productions, and anything else they wanted.

An Empire is Born Cont. A quipu was a rope with various lengths and colors of cord. These cords were knotted together. The length, color, and knots could stand for distances, directions, numbers, and objects.

An Empire is Born Cont. Read the last column on p. 199 and answer the following question: Why did the Inca not need to use cement in their stonework?

Inca Roads Inca built more than 14,000 miles in roads to link the empire. Because they did not use wheeled vehicles many roads were little more than footpaths. Others were paved in stone and wide enough or entire armies.

Inca Roads Cont. Roads were built across nearly every type of landscape including deserts, rain forests, plateaus, and in the mountains. Built for government and military use only. Anyone who purposefully destroyed or damaged the roads were put to death.

The Inca Legacy In 1527 civil war erupted between two rivals for the title of emperor. Just as the war ended Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish explorer and conqueror, arrived. With only 167 armed men he defeated the Inca.