1. The Incas

2. Incas
The Incas were a powerful civilization in South America from CE.
Their economy was based on agriculture, and silver/gold jewelry trade.
Their religion was polytheistic.

3. Incas Their capital city was Cuzco.
Machu Picchu was high in the Andes Mountains.
They used step, or terrace, farming.
The Incas had many important achievements:
Stone-covered roads to connect empire (bridges)
Architecture included stone palaces, temples, fortress
Advanced medicine (example: brain surgery)

4. Incas—Late 1300s
The Inca started as a small group that were located in Cuzco.
They did not begin to become powerful until after the fall of the Moche of Peru.
Pachacuti was a leader who unified the Inca and established the Inca Empire.

5. Organization of the Empire
Emperor
Nobles,
High Priests
Warriors, Officials
Merchants, Artisans, Farmers
Slaves, Prisoners
The Inca Empire was built on war and bribery.
The conquered peoples were all taught the same language.
Each region was appointed a governor who answered to the Emperor.

6. Culture
Incas were required to marry from within their own social group.
Women were expected to live at home; the only alternative was to be a priestess.
Most people were farmers, they also herded llamas and alpacas.
A system of knotted strings
was used to keep records.
This was called a quipu.

7. Road System 24,800 miles of road
The Inca built roads to unify their people.
Roads made travel and communication throughout the empire more efficient.
There were rest houses and storage depots along with bridges to span ravines and waterways.

8. Machu Picchu
City built at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains.
They had great buildings made of stone held without mortar.
The Urubamba River flows below Machu Picchu.
Archaeologists believe Machu Picchu was constructed for use as a Royal Estate.

9. Defeat of the Inca Empire
The Spanish arrived in 1531 led by Francisco Pizarro.
Spanish Conquistador led a band of 180 men with superior weapons.
The Inca, like the Aztec, were devastated by the disease smallpox.
After the death of the Inca Emperor a civil war broke out, Pizarro took advantage and defeated the people.
Pizarro and his men established Lima as the new capital of the Spanish Colony in 1535.

10. Incan Civilization
Located in the Andes Mountains of South America
Represented by Machu Picchu
Ruled by an emperor
Economy based on high-altitude agriculture
Polytheistic religion
Road System

11. Inca Gold & Silver

13. Incan Terrace Farming