1. The Inca Empire
Ms. Carmelitano

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

3. Map

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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