The Inca Empire

Incan Cities

- Built cities in conquered areas - All government buildings were the same - All roads led to Cuzco, full of temples, plazas, and palaces

Pachacuti

- Considered the founder of the Inca Empire - Skilled warrior and chief religious leader - Claimed he was divine, son of the sun - Exercised absolute power - Built roads over treacherous terrain; without wheeled vehicles connected a vast empire; managed a complex political and economic system without written language.

Inca Empire

- Empire extended along the Pacific coast and Andean highlands from northern border of modern Ecuador to Maule River in central Chile - Inca originated in village of Paqari-tampu, about 15mi south of Cuzco; population reached a height of 10 million - Official language: Quecha - The Sapa Inca (emperor) had absolute power; he claimed to be the son of the sun; empire's religious le - World divided between earth and sky - Humans as the mediating element between earth and the sky - The empire was divided into four regions (Suyus) with the capital at Cuzc

Inca Society & Political System Part 2

- Every adult male citizen was required to pay taxes in the form labor - mit'a (tax system) - Practiced Mitmaq - relocation of whole communities as a form of social control (to break up rebellious groups & to assimilate) - Unlike the market in Mesoamerican Civilizations, the market in Cuzco was relatively small and outside the city. - The state had a central role in the collection and redistribution of goods. - The Inca practiced cranial deformation.

Agriculture Part 2

- Inca Road System - Very important to transport goods and information along the empire; without good communication, the empire could collapse at any time. - Mostly for political/administrative purposes; Government Messengers ; Incan Armies and government officials - Coca - became a cash crop; Mostly used by the Royalty, nobles to dull pain and hunger; Heavily used by government messengers who suffered from altitude sickness

Machu Picchu Part 2

- Machu Picchu is nearly surrounded by the Urubamba River and the mountains that cradle the site also are important sacred landforms -- together these features show that Machu Picchu formed a cosmological, hydrological, and sacred geographical center for a vast region - The central plaza that separates the religious from the urban section, has a great rock in the center. - The religious section contains impressive architecture and masonry works. - Research indicates that it was not a defensive stronghold but a retreat built by and for the Inca ruler Pachacuti and other elites. - Scholars have suggested it was built for elites wanting to escape the noise and congestion of the city.

Machu Picchu Part 1

- Machu Picchu was an amazing urban creation of the Incan Empire; with giant walls, terraces and ramps, which appear as though they have been cut naturally into the rock escarpments. - This site was so well constructed that even after 5 centuries of neglect in the Peruvian jungle, only the thatch and reed roofs are missing. - Discovered in 1911 by the American Yale professor, Hiram Bingham. - The complex can be divided in three distinct sections: Agricultural, Urban, and Religious.

Agriculture Part 1

- Most farms were in the highlands - Incas practiced terrace agriculture - Three main staples: corn, potatoes, pigweed (seeds) - Domesticated llamas & guinea pigs - Coastal Incan populations relied on seafood - lots of fishing! - Sacred chicha beer derived from corn - used by priests for ceremonial purposes - Terrace Farming - Building stepped terraces helped create farmland, the clever construction of each terrace gave crops the best chance of survival. - Coca - became a cash crop; Mostly used by the - Royalty, nobles to dull pain and hunger; Heavily used by government messengers who suffered from altitude sickness.

Inca Society & Political System Part 1

- Policy of forced resettlement ensured political stability - Officials collected taxes, enforced laws, kept records on a quipu (collection of knotted colored strings) which noted dates, events, population, crops. - Storehouses - Qollqa, were centers for redistribution; Inca government was socialist to an extent. - Use of road system strictly limited to government, military business - Private property forbidden, crime nonexistent, citizens never starved - No written records; oral tradition preserved through generations - Several methods were needed to control the vast and diverse populations: accept Incan Rule and Authority; accept Inti (Sun God) as their main deity

Emperors

- The 8th emperor Vircacocha was highly successful. - He formed alliances with neighboring kingdoms - Conquered a large territory surrounding Cuzco. - First ruler to title himself Sapa Inca or "Supreme Inca"

Inca Religion

- The Inca were polytheistic. - The primary god was Inti, the sun god. - While some gods like Mama Quilla (Moon goddess), Pachamama (Mother Earth), Viracocha (Creator God) - spanned the whole empire, others were more local. - Inca believed in reincarnation. - The Inca practiced cranial deformation

Architecture

- The Incas also built elaborate temples for their deities. - The most important structure in Cuzco was The Temple of the Sun - dedicated to Inti, the Sun God. - The exterior walls were covered with heavy gold plates. The inside was also coated with gold (thought to symbolize the sun). - Inside the temple, you could find idols of gold and silver as well as the mummified bodies of past rulers and their wives. - Inca were master engineers and stonemasons - Fit stones together perfectly with no mortar - Didn't have iron tools or wheels to move huge blocks of stone - The Inca constructed stone temples without using mortars yet the stones fit together so well that a knife would not fit between the stones.

Inca Weaving

- The most important craft for the Incas was cloth - Nobles wore elaborate tunics - There was a specialized house Aqllahuasi 'House of Chosen Women' for the purposes of spinning and weaving cloth - Inca rulers, govt. officials, and nobles wore stylized tunics that symbolized their status - The Incas used cotton, the wool of alpacas, llamas and the superior and rare wool of vicuñas and guanacos. - Clothing made of the wool of vicuñas and guanacos was exclusively for the Inca and the nobility

Inca Decline

- Topa Inca's son Huayna Capac continued expansion but he contracted a disease that led to his death. - He was unable to name his successor so his two sons fought for imperial supremacy. - The empire was eventually torn by civil war. - The Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro found the Incan state in this political chaos and so they were at an advantage. - The civil war along with the Spanish conquest led to the decline of the Incan Empire

Inca art - practical

- Used materials available to them in nature and blended them creating many artistic forms in practical ways. - Pottery was sometimes meant to resemble baskets. - Inca pottery did not typically portray the human form, unlike other cultures that thrived before them. - Instead they used geometric patterns and shapes and heads of animals. - Incas were prolific jewelry craftsman. - Most of the Inca gold jewelry and artifacts was looted by the Spanish conquerors, melted and taken away to Spain

Quipu

An elaborate recording system using knots; could record: Population including Birth/death rates; Food supply: harvest/livestock; Military strength/casualties/deaths; Dates / Important Events

Cayao

commoners of the state not related to royalty

Collama

royalty & loyal kin

Payan

servants with Incan roots