Objective: To examine the culture of the Inca empire. Do Now: Use the maps below to determine which modern countries were a part of the Inca Empire.

At its height, the Inca empire covered parts of the modern-day countries of: Peru Chile Bolivia Colombia Argentina Ecuador It stretched approximately 2,500 miles down the western coast of South America! The Inca Empire

The Incas built their ancient civilization in the 1200s high up in the Andes Mountains.

This photo of the Andes Mountains was taken from the window of a bus on the way to visit the Incan ruins of Ingapirca during a trip to Ecuador in July of Remember, the Incas were known as the Sky People!

Much of Peru is in the Andes and above the clouds.

The Inca capital was located in Cuzco, Peru.

One of their greatest achievements was the construction of a “hidden city” high up in the mountains called Machu Picchu.

Polytheistic religion- Pantheon headed by Inti-the sun god offered food, clothing, and drink rituals included sacrifice of humans and animals

Incan Religion The Incas believed in many gods though the sun god was the most important. sun god-Inti snake god water god gold god

Inca masonry (stonework) is some of the best in the world – they didn’t use anything to hold their stones together!

The entrance of the Templo Del Sol. Notice the incredible Incan masonry!

Just like the Aztecs, the Incas formed an empire by conquering neighboring tribes.

Desert people, 200 BC to AD 600, best known for huge designs on desert floor Many theories, including having to do with location of water Built irrigation canals and relied on springs, flooding of streams to water crops Farming supported large population The Nazca Lived in coastal desert of Peru in farming, fishing villages 400 BC to AD 600 Built irrigation canals in desert, channeled flow of Andean streams to crops Best known for skilled metalwork in gold, silver, pottery Pottery depicted scenes of everyday life, including warfare The Moche Early Cultures absorbed by the Inca

As their empire expanded, they built an amazing system of ancient roads for their runners to travel with news and orders!

Their empire eventually included around 14,000 miles of roads that reached over 10 million people! Messengers would have to memorize information and relay it on to the next runner. Messages could travel up to 250 miles in 1 day!

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.

Identify Problem and Solution What problems did the environments of South America create, and how did early cultures solve those problems? Answer(s): extremely dry area, high mountain range, rain forest; planted crops based on zone, built irrigation canals so streams would flow from mountains to crops

In order to survive, the Inca had to figure out a way to farm on the steep mountain sides on which they lived. How did they do this? The Incas developed a system of “terrace farming”.