The Inca1438-1525

Who were the Incas?The Inca were a

group of people who lived in what is now modern day Peru in South America

They built their empire in the rugged terrain of the Andes Mountains

They existed between 1438 and 1525 around the same time as the Aztecs

Tough TerrainThe Andes is an area

of geographic extremes:Tropical RainforestsFertile ValleysSome of the highest

mountains in the world

Highland plateau lies between two mountain ranges

Adapting to Tough Terrain

Settled in a fertile mountain valley more than 11.000 feet above sea level

Founded their capital city Cuzco

The Inca spread their territory throughout the 1400’s

Pachacuti became emperor in 1438

The tough terrain made it difficult to rule

Cities were almost impossible to grow

Cuzco probably held no more than 25,000 people and Machu Picchu only housed around 1,000

How did the Inca rule?The Incas took

several steps to control and govern their people:Subjects were

divided into family groups

Required to learn Quechua language and worship the Incan gods

Daily lives of the IncaIncan farmers adapted to the difficult terrain

– terraced hillsides and built irrigationCommunication was difficult – chasquis

carried messages up and down the length of the empire

Members of society were asked to perform a few days of labor each year

Inca had a moneyless economy – trade was in the form of barter or exchanges of goods and services – Trade was limited and controlled by the government

Incan SocietyTwo Main Groups

NoblesCommoners

Nobles ran the government, controlled the army, and enjoyed a rich life style of life

Most commoners (with the exception of artists) were farmers and fisherman –performed basic tasks like growing crops for everyone

Once someone was born into a class they stayed in a class

Incan ReligionBelieved that their

emperor was the son of the sun god Inti – the most important god

Built many templesPriests were

performed rituals such as animal sacrifices and the occasional human sacrifice

Warfare and the Mighty Incan ArmyNearly 200,000

strongIt was so frightening

that the emperor often had only to ask neighboring peoples to join the empire

Soldiers were commoners – some were prisoners of war

Incan Record KeepingNo form of writingUsed a counting tool

called quipu – cord with knotted rope with various lengths tied to it

Preserved legacy through oral tradition and another type of quipu

RoadsBuilt a huge network of

roads and highways 14,000 miles

Built tunnels through hills

Built forts, palaces, and temples from huge stone blocks put together without mortar

Artisans made jewelry, and figurines out of precious metals

Fall of the Incan EmpireInvaded by the SpanishThe empire was weakened by unrest – Atahualpa

won the throne by defeating his brother in a bitter civil war that began in 1527

1532 Francisco Pizarro arrived at an Incan portThe Spanish tricked the Incan emperor, kidnapped

and executed himThe conquered people of the Incan empire rebelled By 1535 Spanish controlled most of the Incan lands

– enslaved many, killed millions with dieseases Last Incan ruler was defeated in `1572