1. Incas

2. The World of the Incas
The Inca civilization lived in the Andes Mountains
Many peaks rise above 20,000 feet
It is a difficult environment for human settlement
Altitude
Steep mountains

3. The World of the Incas – Andean Agriculture
Andean people fished and hunted
Farmers grew crops like chili peppers, squash, beans, cotton, peanuts, and corn
Raised livestock – llamas & alpacas
Farmed along rivers
Farmed on hillsides using terraces
Cut a flat strip of level land into the hill/mountains
Created irrigation canals to carry water to terraces

4. The Incas – Inca Origins
Incas had no writing system – no written history
What we know is from oral tradition passed on when Europeans wrote accounts
Believed that Incas settled in Cuzco (Peru) in A.D. 1200

5. The Incas – Inca Origins
According to legend, Incas descended from Inti, the sun god.
Inti told them to settle in a land where golden staff would sink easily into the ground – it was Cuzco
The empire was built over the next 300 years

6. The Incas – Building an Empire
Incas were led by a series of warrior-kings called Sapa Incas
Pachacuti was the greatest of the Sapa Incas – took power in 1438
Used military force and diplomacy to expand empire
Preferred diplomacy to fighting
Offered peace and protection to those who would join
Could keep local rulers and customs

7. The Incas – Incas at Their Height
Huayna Capac was the last of the great Sapa Incas
Empire stretched 2500 miles
Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chili, & Argentina
Huayna Capac died in 1525 and didn’t arrange for successor
Sons fought – their brutal civil war ended as Spanish conquered the Inca empire

8. Section 1 Quiz How did the Incas adapt to their environment?
How did the Inca Empire expand?
Why did some people agree to accept Inca rule?
Who was the greatest of the Sapa Incas?

9. The Incas - Inca Life (Nobles)
Inca society broken into two groups – nobles and commoners
Three levels of nobles
By birth
Appointed – usually for service
Curacas – local non-Inca chiefs

10. The Incas - Inca Life (Commoners)
Commoners – divided by age and sex
Boys 9-16 tended flocks
Men raised crops & served in army
Men over 50 – light tasks like weave rope
Girls 9-12 gather plants for medicine and dyes
Girls 16 married or state service
Weave for nobles
Work in temples

11. The Incas - Inca Life (Community Life)
Commoners lived in communities called ayllu
The ayllu – a group of families that lived in same location
Shared land, food, animals, & resources
Lived in single room houses of stone or mud brick
One third of year devoted to festivals and ceremonies

12. The Incas – Inca Life (Land and Labor)
All Inca land was communal property – owned and managed by government
Land divided into three parts
Government
Priests and religion
Ayllu
Farmers cultivated for government and religion before could cultivate for ayllu
Commoners also have to provide a mita (labor tax)
Had to work for state for certain number of days during year
Could be military or construction of bridges and roads

13. The Incas - Inca Life (Trade)
Incas did not use money
Most communities produced necessary goods
Simple markets existed to exchange food for goods like wool
More of a barter system
With no money or property – difficult to accumulate wealth

14. The Incas - Inca Life (Religion)
Incas were religious, but little is know because didn’t write
Worshiped many gods
Inti – Sun god and most important
Believed descended from him and owed special worship
Viracocha – creator god who was assisted by gods of moon, stars, and earth

15. The Incas – Inca Life (Religion)
Inca priests performed rituals to bring a good harvest or ensure loyalty
Eat corn and llama blood for loyalty
Sapa Inca – honored as a living god (descended from Inti)
Commoners had to lower head when he passed

16. Section 2 Quiz What were the three ranks of nobles?
How were commoners divided in Inca society?
What were commoners paid for their work?
How was the land owned and divided in the Inca Empire?
Why do you think the Inca rulers set up this system?
How did farmers and commoners support the Inca government?
How did Incas regard their leaders?

17. The Incas - Achievements
Ruled with excellent administration (managing government)
No written language or wheeled vehicles
Empire centered in Cuzco
Empire divided into quarters
A governor in charge of each quarter
Noble by birth
All governors made up supreme council
They reported directly to emperor

18. The Incas - Achievements
Each village divided into groups of 10 families – The head of one family governed all 10 families in that group
Local group leaders reported to a curaca or local chief
Local chief in charge of 100 families

19. The Incas - Achievements
Incas had a strong oral tradition
Quechua was the language they would impose on conquered people
Military messengers carried a quipus
Made out of knotted strings
Kept records
Every year took a census
Incas created a welfare state
Incas lived under strict controls
Homes and fields inspected
Identifying clothing
If honor government rules

20. The Incas - Achievements
Incas were master builders
Stone architecture – buildings still standing today
Used large stone block that didn’t need mortar or cement
Vast road system covering 15,000 miles
Roads crossed mountains, deserts, and jungles
Spanned rivers on bridges swung from cable
Also had floating bridges
Artists used gold and silver
Incas also wove fine textiles – more proud of this