The
Inca
Empire
Background
■ Empire extended along
the Pacific coast and
Andean highlands
from northern border
of modern Ecuador to
Maule River in central
Chile
■ Inca originated in
village of
Paqari-tampu, about
15mi south of Cuzco
■ Official language:
Quecha
The Inca civilization, which flourished in the Andes Mountains of South America from the
13th to 16th centuries, was profoundly shaped by its geography, the natural resources
available, and the significant natural barriers that influenced its development and
expansion.
Geography: Diverse Climate Zones: The
Andean Highlands: The empire stretched along the
western coast of South America,
heart of the Inca Empire
encompassing a wide range of
was located in the climates, from the arid coastal
high-altitude Andes deserts to the cold, high-altitude
Mountains. This rugged mountains and the humid
terrain presented both Amazonian jungles in the east.
challenges and This diversity influenced
opportunities. agriculture and resource
availability in different regions
(suyus or regions) of the empire
CUZCO
Cuzco: The capital
city, Cuzco, was
situated in a fertile
valley in the Andes,
serving as the
administrative, political,
and religious center of
the empire
.
● Extensive Road Network
(Qhapaq Ñan): To connect
their vast and geographically
diverse empire, the Inca built
an impressive network of
roads and bridges that
spanned thousands of
kilometers across mountains,
deserts, and jungles. This
facilitated communication,
trade, and the movement of
armies.
●
Natural Resources:
The Inca Empire had access to a variety of
natural resources across its diverse
territories:
● Agricultural Land: Despite the
mountainous terrain, the Inca
ingeniously utilized terraced farming to
create arable land on steep slopes.
● Staple crops: Potatoes, maize (corn),
quinoa.
● Other crops: Sweet potatoes, beans,
squash, tomatoes, peanuts, chili
peppers, coca, and cotton.
Water: Mountain streams and rivers provided
essential water for irrigation, especially in the
drier regions. The Inca developed
sophisticated irrigation systems, including
canals and aqueducts, to manage water
resources effectively.
Natural Resources
Stone: The mountainous environment
Minerals: The Andes Mountains provided an abundance of stone like
were rich in minerals, including: limestone, granite, and andesite, which
were crucial for their remarkable
● Precious metals: Gold and architecture, including cities like Machu
silver, which held symbolic and Picchu, temples, and roads.
Flora and Fauna:
religious significance and were
used for ornamentation and ● Timber: Wood from the lower
representing wealth and power mountain slopes and the edges of the
Amazonian region was used for
(though not as currency).
construction and fuel.
● Other metals: Copper and tin, ● Camelids: Llamas and alpacas were
used for tools and weapons. vital for wool, meat, and
● Salt: An important resource for transportation (llamas). Alpacas also
preservation and trade, provided fine wool for textiles.
● Other animals: Guinea pigs were
particularly from the highlands.
raised for food. Various plants were
used for medicinal purposes and
dyes.
Llama and Alpaca
Natural Barriers:
The geography of the Andean region Coastal Desert: To the west of the
also presented significant natural Andes lay a long and arid coastal
barriers that influenced the Inca's desert along the Pacific Ocean.
development and interactions with other This desert presented a formidable
cultures: barrier, limiting access and
interaction with seafaring cultures
● Andes Mountains: acted as a
from that direction.
major barrier, isolating the Inca
Amazon Jungle: This environment,
civilization to some extent and
with its different climate, diseases,
making both internal and external
and indigenous populations, acted
travel and communication
as a natural barrier, largely
challenging. The steep slopes and
preventing significant Inca
high altitudes limited the movement
expansion into that region. While
of large armies and the easy they accessed some resources
exchange of ideas with cultures to from the jungle, they did not
the east. establish major settlements there.
Map Work
On your map provided locate and label
- three (3) natural barriers
-atacama desert, andes mountains, south
pacific ocean
- capital city Cuzco
- shade the area that the Inca Civilization
was located
Events leading to
Rise and Fall
■ 1438: Manco Capac established capital at
Cuzco (Peru)
■ 1400-1500: Pachacuti gained control of
Andean population about 12 million people
■ 1525: Emperor Huayna Capac died of plague;
civil war broke out between two sons because
no successor named
■ 1532: Spanish arrived in Peru
■ 1535: Empire lost
Francisco Pizarro
■ 1527: Pizarro wanted to
discover wealth;
embarked on his third
voyage to the New World
■ Sept. to Nov. 1532:
The Cajamarca massacre-
Pizarro led 160
Spaniards to Cuzco,
slaughtering over 2,000
Inca and injuring 5,000
■ November 16, 1532:
Atahualpa captured
by Spaniards, offered
gold for his freedom.
■ Pizarro accepted more
than 11 tons of gold
($6 million+) baubles,
dishes, icons,
ornaments, jewelry, &
vases, but never
released Atahualpa.
■ July 26, 1533:
Atahualpa was killed
Manco Capac (1022-1107)
■ founder of Inca dynasty
■ declared himself Sapa
Inca, divine son of the
Sun
■ skilled warrior and
leader
■ chief religious leader
■ exercised absolute
power
Pachacuti (1438-1471)
■ Usurped throne form
brother Inca Urcon
■ Considered the
founder of the Inca
Empire
■ Skilled warrior and
chief religious leader
■ Claimed he was divine,
son of the sun
■ Exercised absolute
power
Social Structure
■ The Incas had a very clear social structure.
■ The ruler, the Sapa Inca, and his wives, the Coyas,
had supreme control over the empire.
■ The High Priest and the Army Commander in
Chief were next.
Social Structure
■ Military
■ Then came the Four Apus, the regional army commanders.
■ Next came temple priests, architects, administrators
and army generals.
■ Merchants and Middle Class
■ Next were artisans, musicians, army captains and the
quipucamayoc, the Incan "accountants."
■ At the bottom were sorcerers, farmers, herding
families and conscripts.
“The Inca”
■ The Sapa Inca was formally married to his sister, the
Coya, but had legal access to a large group of
"Chosen Women."
■ Some of these were devoted to the church and
celibate, but other were effectively other wives of the
Sapa Inca.
■ A son was chosen from among the offspring of the
Coya or from any of the 200 or so concubines.
■ Thus brother and sister, King and Queen in the Incas
could be developed from a large group of
half-brothers and half-sisters.
Important Positions
■ Local governors responsible for
exacting labor tax which could be paid
by service in army, on public works, or in
agricultural work
■ Coya carried out important religious
duties and governed when Sapa Inca
absent
■ Nobles ruled provinces w/ chieftains
Inca conquered
Political Organisation
■ policy of forced resettlement ensured political
stability
■ officials collected taxes, enforced laws, kept records
on a quipu (collection of knotted colored strings)
which noted dates, events, population, crops
■ use of road system strictly limited to government,
military business
■ all land belonged to Inca, crops allotted to specific
groups, government took possession of each harvest
■ private property forbidden, crime nonexistent,
citizens never starved
■ no written records; oral tradition preserved through
generations
Economic Developments
■ constructed aqueducts, cities, temples, fortresses,
short rock tunnels, suspension bridges, 2250mile
road system
■ metal works of alloy, copper, tin, bronze, silver gold
■ developed important medical practices- surgery on
human skull, anesthesia
■ resources-corn, potatoes, coffee, grain
■ created woven baskets, woodwinds
Agriculture
■ The comprehension of how irrigation can benefit
agriculture is evident by the expansion into the
highland areas.
■ They developed drainage systems and canals to
expand their crop resources.
■ Potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and coca were
among the many crops grown by the Inca.
■ Llama were used for meat and transportation.
■ There was more than enough resources available for
everyone.
Khipu (Quipu)
■ A khipu consists, minimally, of a main cord from
which pendant cords hang. (Pendants of pendants are
called subsidiaries.)
■ Knots tied in the pendant cords and other
modifications of the pendant are the commonest
data-bearing or significant features.
■ Inka functionaries used cord records for censuses,
inventories, tribute records, and documents about
transactions; Spanish courts also accepted them as
documents of record in early colonial times.
■ Llamas
■ Intensive agricultural techniques
■ Inca empire spanned many types of environments and required
terraces to make farmland out of the mountainous terrain
■ Chief crop was the potato
■ Herded llamas and alpacas for meat, wool, hides, and dung (used
as fuel)
Military Expansion
■ attacked, looted villages of neighboring peoples,
assessing tribute
■ program of permanent conquest, establishing
garrisons among settlements of peoples whom
they conquered
■ conquered and assimilated people of Brazil,
Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru
■ gained territory south to the Titicaca Basin,
north to present-day Quito making subject
peoples of powerful Chancas, Quecha, kingdom of
Chimu
■ empire reached southernmost extent in central
Chile, last vestiges of resistance on southern
Perurian coast eliminated
■ pushed northern boundary of empire to
Ancasmayo River
Architecture
■ The dominant stylistic form in Inca architecture is a
simple, but elegantly proportioned trapezoid, which
serves the dual ends of functionality and severely
restrained decoration.
■ Trapezoidal doorways, windows, and wall niches are found
in Inca constructions of all types, from the most finely
wrought temples to crudely built walls in unimportant
buildings.
■ The doorways and windows are obviously functional, and
the niches probably served a variety of functions as yet
unidentified by the archeologists.
■ Placement of these trapezoidal openings was primarily
functional, but occasionally, esthetic arrangements might
dominate the placement of the trapezoids, if there was no
conflict with functionality.
Cultural Conflict &
Cooperation
■ religious institutions destroyed by Spanish
conquerors’ campaign against idolatry
■ Spaniards superior military technology
■ horses, muskets, cannons, metal helmets, armor,
steel swords and lances
■ Incan Bronze Age weapons
■ llamas, clubs, sticks, wooden spears and arrows
■ division & discontent among Inca, Spanish
played on old feuds
■ disease brought by Europeans
■ survivors felt gods were less powerful than
those of conquerors
■ Incans believed that disasters marked world’s
end
Today
■ descendants of Inca are present day Quechua-speaking
peasants of Andes, constitute about 45% population of
Peru
■ combine farming, herding w/ simple traditional
technology
■ rural settlements three kinds: families living in midst of
fields, true village communities w/ fields outside of
inhabited centers, combination of two
■ towns centers of mestizo (mixed-blood) population
■ Indian community close-knit, families usually
intermarrying; much of agricultural work done
cooperatively
■ religion is Roman Catholicism infused w/ pagan
hierarchy of spirits and deities