Section 2The Incas: People of the Sun!

HISTORICAL BACKGROUN

D1. The Incan Civilization dates

as far back as 1200AD. 2. However, its reign as a formidable empire of note,

lasted only a hundred years.

3. The Spanish arrived and conquered them by 1560.

-With 12 million people under his

rule.

-The Incan Empire grew to

over 2,500 miles

During the reign of Topa Inca:

During the reign of Topa Inca, the Incan Empire:

Pacific Ocean

Geographically speaking

What is the relative location of the Incan Empire?

What is its absolute location?

-It extended south from SW Columbia to central Chile and Argentina

-Spread along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, the __?__ coast of

__?__ America

The capital city of the ancient Incan government was the village of Cuzco, which is now in present day Peru.

The Inca Road System

• Without good communication, the empire could collapse at any time.

• It was important to transport goods and information along the empire.

• It stretched from Ecuador to Chile.

• Included woven suspension bridges

Going down

The Incan government was

able to take census and

collect taxes because of the

large scale road system that they

built.

A census was a way of

keeping count of the population. It assisted with collecting

taxes.

As we already discussed, a census is an official count of all people living in an area.

_____

3,643

The Incas used quipus, which were knotted strings as a method of keeping their records.

In order to farm on the steep slope of the Andes Mountains, the Inca employed terrace farming. As the photo shows, they leveled

the land in step like beds along the side of the mountain.

Terraces inMachu Picchu

Agriculture• Most farms were in

the highlands

• They domesticated llamas & guinea pigs

• Three main staples:corn, dehydrated potato, pigweed (seeds)

• Coastal Incan populations relied on seafood

Architecture - Incan buildings were build to withstand earthquakes!

• Each stone was perfect, precisely cut so that no mortar was needed.

• The Incas were famous for their stonework.

It means they had a strong knowledge of math and science.

The beauty of Machu Picchu also demonstrates the Incans incredible

architecture and engineering skills.

Architecture

The Temple of the Sun

• The Incas also built elaborate temples for their deities - their gods.

• The most important structure in Cuzco was The Temple of the Sun, which was dedicated to Inti, the Sun God.

• The exterior walls were covered with heavy gold plates. The inside was also coated with gold, which was thought to symbolize the sun.

• Inside the temple, you could find idols of gold and silver as well as the mummified bodies of past rulers and their wives.

Aqueductswere a combination of bridges and tunnels, using stone pipes which would bring water from rivers to people a few hundred

miles away.The Inca built great aqueducts (bridges

and tunnels to transport water) in

order to bring water into their villages from

the mountaintops.

One final example of Incan superior architect and

masonry skills

The Incan people

worshiped many gods.

Inti, the sun god was one of the more important

gods.

Just in case you were wondering what it was like living during the Incan Empire,

listen to this:-Accept Incan Rule and Authority

People were forced to:

-Accept Inti, the Sun God as their main deity

-Every adult male was required to pay taxes, in the form of labor

-And if you were rebellious enough, the government would relocate you C’ ya!

The Incan empire

came to an end in the

1500s when they were conquered

by the Spanish.

A Variety of Reasons Caused the Decline of the Incan Empire

• Pizarro arrives during this chaos with 200 Spaniards the Inca population at that time was more than 6 million!

• Civil War between two brothers

• His men are driven by greed and lust for gold

• Pizarro kidnaps an Incan leader and holds him for ransom, and eventually executes him.

• 1532-1560 – Struggle for the Inca, included their lack of immunity to the Spanish diseases• By 1560, Spaniards had a dominant control of what was left of the great Incan Empire.

Today, Incan descendants have adopted and speak Quechua as their official language.

• They have many dialects.

• Quechua is an oral language. There is a lack of written material, unlike the Maya and Aztec who used hieroglyphics.

• Quechua is still spoken by many indigenous populations all over South America.

Descendants of the Incans can be found

today in:

Peru, Ecuador,

Bolivia, Chile and

Columbia.

Peru

Ecuador

Columbia

Bolivia

C

H

I

L

E

South America

THE

END!