The Incas: Children of the Sun Essential Question: In what ways were civilizations in early Mesoamerica and the Andes unique?

Who Were the Incas? The Incas were a small tribe of South American Indians. Lived in the city of Cuzco, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.

The Inca Empire expanded into what are now the modern countries of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

Inca Government Strong central government. Sapa Inca: The head of government was the Inca, sometimes called the “Sapa Inca” (“the Only Inca”). The Sapa Inca was all-powerful. Pachacuti was the leader that brought the Inca together in 1440s. QPSYenhtoY

Activity Read The Inca and complete the following pyramid which shows the hierarchy of the Inca political organization.

Common People Had No Freedom The Incas were divided into nobles and common people. Nobles govern regions. Common young men required to serve in the army.

Service Tax Local officials kept an detailed census—an official count of all the people in an area. Each person listed had to pay a tax = forced labor. People paid their tax each year in physical labor—serving in the army, working in the mines, or building roads, temples, and palaces.

Geography Geography helped the Inca grow Three main geographical regions: Each was a natural barrier. 1. The Andes Mountains 2. The Amazon jungle 3. The coastal desert

Inca Roads The Incas connected their empire with 14,000 miles of well- built roads. The roads belonged to the government. No one could travel the roads without special permission.

1. Making Inferences Judging by the pictures of the Inca Trail, how did the Inca usually travel? What types of transportation were well suited to the trail? What types of transportation were not well suited to the trail? Explain.

Machu Picchu 2. Drawing Conclusions What do the ruins of Machu Picchu suggest about the civilization of the Inca?

Quipu The Inca had no writing system. Kept records using a system of knotted strings called the quipu. The quipu enabled the Inca to record the number of men who went to war and goods that were exchanged.