The Inca Empire Pages 434-439

Objectives Describe the ways the Inca adapted the environment to their needs Trace the growth of the Inca Empire Identify and describe major achievements of the Inca Empire

Mountains of South America Built empire along Andes Mountains Stretched from what is today Ecuador to central Chile To put that in perspective: that distance is the same as NYC to the Panama Canal!

The Inca Like the Aztec, they worshipped the sun Depended on maize as a major crop Organized a strong army Created a system of government

Cuzco Where the Inca Empire got started Cuzco is in a fertile valley of what is today Peru Around the year 1200 the Inca settled here to crow crops At first “Inca” was the name for the ruler Later the word applied to all people

Drought: Reduced Farmland Inca took over neighbors’ land During the 1300s the Inca ruled most of the Cuzco Valley and demanded tributes from the other people living there

Pachakuti Ruler in 1438 Greatly extended the Inca borders Controlled land west to the Pacific Ocean and south to the area of Lake Titicaca Inca army seemed “unstoppable”!

Pachakuti = Sapa Inca Sapa Inca = Supreme Inca (“supreme ruler”) Pachakuti organized his new land: Forced conquered people off their land Allowed people who were loyal to the Inca to settle there

Inca Religion Spread under Pachakuti Religion was based on the worship of an ancient Inca god called Viracocha Conquered people were forced to worship Viracocha and provide offerings of food Inca also let people continue to worship their own gods as well

Temples Pachakuti built a temple with a gold sculpture of the god Viracocha Temple was located in Cuzco The most important temple honored Inti, the sun god The Inca considered Inti to be their parent and often called themselves “Children of the Sun”

Life in Cuzco Cuzco served as the center of government, religion, and trade in the Inca empire Buildings were constructed of stone blocks Wealthy people were easy to recognize because they wore special headbands and earrings Outside Cuzco, farmers lived in small mud huts with high windows

Inca Agriculture Grew potatoes, maize, and peppers In hilly areas, built terraces – level platforms of earth that climbed each hill like a staircase In rocky areas, dug huge pits (20 feet deep!) Farmers enriched soil by placing fish in the pits In dry areas, Inca brought water through a system of canals and aqueducts Raised llamas as pack animals Raised wild sheep for wool Hunted deer for food and clothing

Traveling Nothing was more important to keeping the empire together than the huge network of roads Built more than 19,000 miles of roads

Quipu Quipu messages were carried through the empire by runners Messengers stopped every few miles to pass on messages to the next runner

Machu Picchu Located on a mountaintop “Why it was built” - theories: Forgotten until it was discovered again in 1911 “Why it was built” - theories: Special religious town Used as a fortress during war

Spanish Soldiers Spanish soldiers conquered the Inca in the 1500s Quipu records remain