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"Manco Capac, First Inca, 1 of 14 Portraits of Inca Kings" byBrooklynMuseumBot is in the public domain.

The Inca: Engineering an EmpireBy USHistory.org

2016

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbia1 America, and possibly the largest empire in theworld in the early 16th century. The capital of the Inca Empire, Cuzco, was located where Peru is today. Inthis informational text, the author discusses the rise and fall of this great empire, as well as how the Incaswere able to expand their reach. As you read, take note of how the Incas were able to expand their empire.

When Spanish conquistador2 Francisco Pizarrolanded in Peru in 1532, he found unimaginableriches. The Inca Empire was in full bloom. Thestreets may not have been paved with gold — buttheir temples were.

The Coricancha, or Temple of Gold, in the capitolcity of Cuzco boasted an ornamental3 gardenwhere the crops of the earth, maize plantscomplete with leaves and corn cobs, werefashioned from silver and gold. Nearby grazed aflock of 20 golden llamas and their lambs,watched over by solid gold shepherds. Incanobles strolled around on sandals with silversoles protecting their feet from the hard streetsof Cuzco.

The Inca called their empire Tahuantinsuyu, or“the four regions together.” It stretched 2,500miles from Quito, Ecuador, to beyond Santiago,Chile. Within its domain were rich coastalsettlements, high mountain valleys, rain-drenched tropical forests and the driest of deserts. The Incacontrolled perhaps 10 million people, speaking a hundred different tongues. It was the largest empireon earth at the time. Yet when Pizarro executed4 its last emperor, Atahualpa, the Inca Empire was lessthan 100 years old.

The true history of the Inca is still being written. According to one story, four brothers emerged fromLake Titicaca. During a long journey, all but one disappeared. Manco Capac survived to plunge a goldenstaff into the ground where the Rios Tullamayo and Huantanay meet. There, he founded the sacredcity of Cuzco.

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1. Of or relating to the history and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.2. A “conquistador” was a conqueror, especially one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.3. decorative4. “Execute” means “to kill.”

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The Sacred City of Cuzco

Cuzco is nestled in a mountain valley 10,000 feet above sea level. It formed the center of the Incaworld. The first emperor, Pachacuti (who reigned from 1438-1471 A.D.) transformed it from a modestvillage to a great city laid out in the shape of a puma.5 He also installed Inti, the Sun God, as the Incas’official patron,6 building him a wondrous temple. The Inca became the Children of the Sun.

And he did something else — which may explain the Inca’s sudden rise to power. He expanded thecult7 of ancestor worship. When a ruler died, his son received all his earthly powers — but none of hisearthly possessions. All his land, buildings, and servants went to his panaqa, or other male relatives.The relatives used it to preserve his mummy and sustain8 his political influence. Dead emperors thusmaintained a living presence.

Perhaps more importantly though, a new ruler had to create his own income. The only way to do thatwas to grab new lands, subdue9 more people, and expand the Empire of the Sun. And that’s exactlywhat the two next great Inca Emperors did. Tupac Inka Yupanqui more than doubled the empire from1471 to 1493, and Huayna Capac added lands to the north from 1493 to 1527. These two rulers, alongwith Pachacuti, were the great builders of the Inca Empire.

How did they expand the empire so quickly and effectively?

Life in traditional Andean villages was fragile. To increase success, one married couple would helpanother planting or harvesting crops. They would receive help in their own fields in return. Members ofa community supported one another. The Inca tailored this practice of reciprocity — give-and-take —to their own needs.

Their cities centered on great plazas10 where they threw vast parties for neighboring chiefs. Festivitiescontinued for days on end, sometimes lasting a month. Dignitaries11 were fed, and given gifts of gold,jewels, and textiles.12 Only then would the Inca make their requests for labor, to increase foodproduction, to build irrigation schemes,13 to terrace14 hillsides, or to extend the limits of the empire.While warfare was occasionally used to expand the empire, diplomacy and marriages were morecommon unifiers. The empire provided these new territories with security and goods in exchange fortheir labor.

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5. also known as a cougar6. A “Patron” is a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian.7. Cult (noun): a system of religious devotion directed toward a particular figure or object8. Sustain (verb): to strengthen or support physically or mentally9. Subdue (verb): to bring a country or people under control

10. A “plaza” is an open public area.11. people who are thought to be more important due to high rank or office12. “Textile” is a type of cloth or woven fabric.13. a method in which a controlled amount of water is supplied to plans at regular intervals for agriculture14. “Terrace” means to make or a flat area on the side of a hill, especially for growing crops.

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Machu Picchu

The Inca were great builders. They loved stone — almost as much as they revered15 gold. At magicalMachu Picchu, a frontier fortress and a sacred site, a mystic column called the hitching post of the Sunis carved from the rock as it comes out of the ground. Another slab or rock is shaped as a miniaturemodel of the mountain looming over the city.

Temples and fortifications16 at Machu Picchu were constructed from magnificent boulders, someweighing 100 tons or more. Constructed without mortar,17 the joins between them are so tight as todeny a knife-blade entry. A vast labor force was required. There are records of 20 men working on asingle stone, chipping away, hoisting and lowering it, polishing it with sand, hour-by-hour, for an entireyear.

Engineering an Empire

The most marvelous feat was uniting this empire of four regions from the central city of Cuzco. Here,stonework helped as well. The Inca built a network of paved and outlined highways that allowedemperors to control their sprawling empire. One road ran down the spine of the Andes, another alongthe coast. Inca builders could cope with anything the treacherous18 terrain required — steep paths cutalong mountainsides, rope suspension bridges thrown across steep ravines, or treacherouscauseways19 traversing floodplains.20 Every mile and a half they built way stations as resting points.Bands of official runners raced between them covering 150 miles a day. A message could be sent 1200miles from Cuzco to Quito in under a week.

The Quapaq Ñan, as this network was called, integrated the four regions of the empire using over40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of roads. Those roads were built based on the concept, again, ofreciprocity.

Everyone was expected to contribute to the empire. Land was divided by threes. One third was workedfor the emperor, one third was reserved for the gods, and one third the people kept for themselves. Allwere required to pay taxes as tribute. The Mit’a was a labor tax, which required the head of everyhousehold to work for the state for a part of the year. This labor might be in agriculture, the military, orconstructing the empire’s many roads.

The Quapaq Ñan was a road by and for the state and its business. Messengers would run across themrelaying important information. Since the Inca could not write, messengers carried quipu (khipu), acomplex system of knotted strings. Tax collectors and bureaucrats21 kept track of things withthe quipu, and varying lengths, colors, knot-types, and positions enabled them to store enormousquantities of information.

[15]

15. Revere (verb): to have great respect for someone or something16. A “fortification” is a defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack.17. any material or compound used for bonding together bricks, stones, etc.18. Treacherous (adjective): hazardous; presenting hidden or unpredictable dangers19. A “causeway” is a raised road or track across low or wet ground.20. an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, subject to frequent flooding21. A “bureaucrat” is a person who is part of running a government or big company.

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The Inca: Engineering an Empire by USHistory.org is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Despite its glory, the Incas was a brittle empire, held together by promises and threats. In November of1532, Spanish leader Francisco Pizarro captured and ransomed the last Inca emperor, Atahualpa, for24 tons of gold worth $267 million today. After receiving the ransom from the Inca people, theconquistadors strangled Atahualpa anyway. Once Pizarro had executed the last emperor, the empirerapidly collapsed. Catholic priests demanding allegiance to a new Christian god soon replaced theChildren of the Sun. As they had for thousands of years, the hardy peoples of the Andes adapted. Theytook what they must from their new masters, and held onto as many of their old ways as they could.

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which statement identifies the central idea of the text?A. If it weren’t for Francis Pizarro’s, the Inca Empire would have continued to

expand and prosper.B. Despite the riches they possessed, the Incas lived simple lives.C. The Incas were a highly advanced civilization that were able to expand their net

of influence far and wide.D. Warfare was the most common and successful way in which the Incas were able

to expand their empire.

2. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A?A. “The Inca controlled perhaps 10 million people, speaking a hundred different

tongues. It was the largest empire on earth at the time.” (Paragraph 3)B. “Members of a community supported one another. The Inca tailored this

practice of reciprocity — give-and-take — to their own needs.” (Paragraph 9)C. “All were required to pay taxes as tribute. The Mit’a was a labor tax, which

required the head of every household to work for the state for a part of theyear.” (Paragraph 15)

D. “Once Pizarro had executed the last emperor, the empire rapidly collapsed.Catholic priests demanding allegiance to a new Christian god soon replaced theChildren of the Sun.” (Paragraph 17)

3. PART A: What was the most common way the Incas expanded their empire?A. tradeB. peaceful relationsC. warD. lavish gifts

4. PART B: Which quote from paragraph 10 best supports the answer to Part A?A. “Dignitaries were fed, and given gifts of gold, jewels, and textiles.”B. “warfare was occasionally used to expand the empire,”C. “diplomacy and marriages were more common unifiers.”D. “The empire provided these new territories with security and goods in exchange

for their labor.”

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5. What is the author’s main purpose in discussing Francisco Pizarro?

6. How does the author support their claim that “The Inca were great builders”(Paragraph 11)?

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Discussion QuestionsDirections: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared toshare your original ideas in a class discussion.

1. Why was reciprocity an important element of the Inca Empire? How did it contribute to theempire’s success?

2. In the context of the text, what is fair? How did the Incas create an empire in which allpeople fairly contributed? Do you believe how the Inca Empire crumbled was fair? Why orwhy not? Cite evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, orhistory in your answer.

3. In the context of the text, how do people create change? How did the Inca Empire evolveover time? What instigated these changes? Cite evidence from this text, your ownexperience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

4. In the context of the text, what are the costs and benefits of technology? What types oftechnology did the Incas build? How did they contribute to the expansion of the IncaEmpire? Cite evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, orhistory in your answer.

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