History : Inca

• 1. How Did Geography Shape Life
  2. Located in the Andes mountain range which made it difficult to live
  3. Slopes are rocky and steep
  4. Climate is cold and air is thin at high elevations
• 1. Andean Agriculture
  2. Like other places, Andeans farmed lands along rivers
  3. Farmed hillsides by cutting terraces, or strips of level land that are planted with crops.
  4. Irrigation canals carried water to terraces
  5. Hunted game on the mountain slopes and fished in nearby ocean
  6. Farmers raised llamas for meat and alpacas for wool
• The Incan Empire settled in the Valley of Cuzco, present-day Peru around 1200
• The success of the Incan Empire in building an empire was attributed to their well-organized society led by warrior-kings called Sapa Incas
• The greatest Sapa Inca was Pachacuti, who took power in 1438 and built a powerful army
• Soldiers of the Incan Empire often sang bloodthirsty songs to terrify their enemies
• Despite having a strong army, Pachacuti, the greatest Sapa Inca, preferred not to use it and offered peace and protection to those who agreed to join the empire
• The Incan Empire allowed local rulers and customs to continue, but in return, these regions paid taxes in the form of labor and accepted Incan authority
• 1. Incan Empire Expansion
  2. In times of crisis, officials distributed food and clothing from storehouses spread across the empire.
  3. These benefits came at a price, people had little freedom.
  4. Incas forced their language, Quechua on conquered peoples helping unify the empire
  5. Only spoken, no written language
  6. History passed down orally
  7. Official messengers carried a quipu, a record keeping device made of knotted strings
  8. System of roads built throughout empire for fast travel
  9. Soldiers use them to put down rebellions
• 1. Fall of Incan Empire
  2. Last great Sapa Inca, Huayna Capac died without naming  a successor
  3. Two of his sons fought for power and the civil war shattered the Incan world
  4. Weakened empire fell to conquistadors.
• 1. Incan Achievements
  2. Great architects built with huge stone blocks, many still stand after hundreds of years
  3. Road system stretched 15,000 miles across empire
  4. Bridges that swung from cables
  5. Jewelry, dishes, statues and wall decorations from gold and silver
  6. Valued textiles more than gold
  7. Understood astronomy to help decide when to plant crops
• In Incan society, there were two large classes: nobles and commoners, each with their own hierarchy
• Commoners were divided into categories based on age and gender
• Boys between 12-18 herded llamas and alpacas
• Girls aged 9-12 gathered wild plants for dyes and medicine
• Men aged 25-50 raised crops and served as soldiers
• Ayllus were groups of related families that pooled resources together to meet people’s needs
• The land was divided between the government, priests and gods, and for the people
• Slavery was not practiced in Incan society
• In the absence of money, people paid taxes in labor through the mita system
• The Incans worshiped many gods, with the most important being Inti, the sun god