1. The Incas

2. Geography and Cities

3. The Homeland of the Inca
What continent did they live on?
Spread all the way from Colombia to Peru
What mountain range is here?

4. How does this compare to the Aztecs and Mayans?
Aztecs and Mayans – Central America and Mexico
Incas – South America

5. The Homeland of the Inca
Deserts
Fertile valleys
Some rain forests
Andes Mountains

6. What were some major cities?
Cuzco
Machu Picchu
Chimu

7. Cuzco (today)

8. Machu Picchu

9. Inca Homes The Incas were master builders!
They had VERY well planned cities.
Laid out in a grid
Had a central plaza with major temples and buildings surrounding it.
Houses for the common people surrounded the central area.
They were built with huge blocks of stone.

10. Inca Food They grew a great variety of crops..
Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, avocados, peppers, strawberries, peanuts, cashews, squash, beans, pineapples, chocolate, etc.
The potato was the most important food.
Corn was also a very important Incan crop.

11. Primary Crops

12. Inca Social Structure The Inca society had two main social classes.
Upper Class
Lower Class
Farmers
Emperor
Artisans
Government officials
Servants
Priests

13. Inca Government
“Inca” was the title of the ruler/king of the Incan empire.
They believed their king was a descendant of the gods.
A council would chose the most promising son to become the next king.
The king was carried around on a platform made of gold.
The rulers, priests, and generals (who were usually relatives of the king) helped the king govern.

14. Incan Religion They worshipped MANY gods and goddesses.
Most important god – Viracocha (god of nature)
The sun god was also very important.
That is where Inca people are from

15. Incan Religion

16. Religious Ceremonies Religious festivals every month
Dancing, feasts, games, songs, parades, and sacrifices
Often sacrificed animals, like llamas and guinea pigs
At times, they sacrificed children

17. Inca Arts and Culture Weaving blankets, ropes, clothing Metalwork
Bronze statues of rulers
Masks, plates, jewelry in silver
Pottery

18. Inca Clothing Your clothing was based off of your place in society.
If you looked at a person, you could tell their social class.
Clothing was made of cotton or woven from wool.
Men usually wore large tunics, a large cloak, sandals, and carried a small bag. Inca men cut their hair, leaving it short in front, medium long behind,

19. Inca Clothing
Woman wore a one-piece dress that combined skirt and blouse, reaching to the ankles and bound at the waist by a long, wide, woven, and ornamental sash.
At the top, it reached to the neck, the upper edges fastened together over the shoulders by long pins and passing under the arms at the sides.
These pins of copper, silver, or gold, have large heads of various types, sometimes in the form of animal or human figures.
The women wore sandals and head bands similar to the ones men used. Usually they wore a large piece of folded cloth on the head.
They did not cut their hair but parted it in the middle and wore it hanging down the back; it was cut, however, as a sign of mourning.

20. Inca Writing System….A mystery!
They never developed a system of writing!

21. Inca Math / Counting System
Their counting system was a base ten system.
They used a quipus to remember numbers.
The color of the strings and the distance between the knots had special meaning.

22. Accomplishments- Incan Roads
Roads stretched over 12,000 miles
Didn’t use wheeled vehicles - they walked on foot or took llamas

23. Accomplishments- Incan Causeways and Bridges
They built causeways to elevate the roads in swampy areas
The also built amazing bridges, called chacas
They also built bridges by tying reed boats together

24. Accomplishments - Incan Farming
Invented terrace farming
Cut steps into a hill
Nutrients would wash down the side of the hill

25. Llamas

26. The Spanish, led by Francisco Pizzaro
Who killed many Incans?
The Spanish, led by Francisco Pizzaro

27. More Details…
Francisco Pizarro and a small group of conquistadors came to the Inca Empire in 1531.
There, a smallpox epidemic had killed many Incas. Pizarro took advantage of the chaos in the empire.
He invited Atahualpa, the emperor, to a friendly meeting and then had him imprisoned.
Atahualpa arranged for a ransom that added up to almost 20 tons of gold and silver.
This was said to be the largest ransom in history.
However, Pizarro did not honor his end of the bargain. He rejected the Inca ransom and ordered Atahualpa killed, with that the Inca Empire was defeated.

28. What else killed many Incans?