The Inca Create a Mountain Empire

• Western coast of South America

• From present-day Ecuador in north to Chile in South

• Andes Mountains• Largest empire in

the Americas• Capital (Cuzco) in

southern Peru

Where?

Incan Beginnings

• Originally in high Andes• Settled in fertile Valley of Cuzco• By 1200s, had established small

kingdom• Developed traditions and beliefs– Ruler descended from sun god–Would bring prosperity and greatness to

Incan state

Pachacuti Builds an Empire• Became ruler in 1438• Conquered all of Peru, then moved to

neighboring lands• By 1500, empire was 2500 miles long• Home to 16 million people• Conquered through diplomacy and

military force– Allowed conquered people to keep own

customs in exchange for loyalty

Incan Government Creates Unity

• Divided empire into smaller units, but governed by a central bureaucracy

• Efficient economic system• Extensive road system• Imposed single language (Quechua)• Founded schools

Incan Cities

• Built cities in conquered areas– All government buildings were the same

• All roads led to Cuzco, full of temples, plazas, and palaces

• Inca were master engineers and stonemasons– Fit stones together perfectly with no mortar– Didn’t have iron tools or wheels to move

huge blocks of stone

Machu Picchu

Incan Government

• Government controlled all economic and social life– Little private trade

• Social system based on the ayllu, an extended family group– Did jobs too big for single family such as building

irrigation canals or cutting terraces for agriculture• Ayllu part of government system based on decimal

system (10s)– Each Ayllu had a chief, part of a command chain up to

the Incan ruler

Incan Government

• All Inca subjects had to pay tribute in the form of labor known as the mita– Had to work for government for a specific number

of days/year• Work on state farmland, produce goods, or help with

public works projects

– In return, government helped people in times of need

Public Works Projects

• 14,000 mile long road network, crossing mountains and deserts

• Built shelters for travelers • Runners (chasquis) carried messages from one

end of empire to other• Easy movement of troops along roads to keep

order in empire

Government Record Keeping

• Did not develop a writing system• Used quipu, as set of knotted strings, to

record data– Knots represented numbers, and color of strings

represented categories of information• May have developed calendar system with

two calendars, one for night and one for day

Quipu

Religion Supports the State

• Religion helped reinforce power of the government

• Fewer gods than Aztec– Focused on key nature spirits

• Ruler was considered a descendant of the sun god

• Incan priests led sun-worship services– Included sacrifice of llamas and gifts given be

priests to the people as gifts from the gods

Inti, the sun god. Incan rulers were considered descendants of the sun god, so the rulers were worshipped.

Great Cities

• Religious capital of Incan empire was Cuzco– Temple of the Sun was heavily decorated with gold

• Machu Picchu– Excavated in 1912– Mysterious and isolated• 8000 feet above sea level, between two mountain

peaks

– Not sure what its purpose was

Discord in the Empire

• Reached height in early 1500s• Ruler at the time dies of smallpox– Empire split between sons who later fought for

control– Atahualpa wins, but empire is torn apart

• Early in the war between the brothers, the Spanish arrive and conquer the empire

Atahualpa captured by Spanish conquistadors