The Inca 1300 1550 The Landscape Inca built

The Inca 1300 - 1550

The Landscape • Inca built much of their empire on the Andes Mountains. • It was so high that the air was very thin. • Very rough terrain. • Some volcanoes.

Lake Titicaca Seriously… I’m not kidding. That’s what it is called.

The Lake • About 13, 000 feet above sea level. • Children of the sun god rose from the lake to create an empire • This is where the Inca built their empire. • They had to adapt to the thin air. • One of the key adaptations was use of the llama.

Adaptations • Their lungs were larger and their legs were shorter and stronger than others. • Grew many types of food because of the changing land. • Dug canals, moved rivers and cut the mountains into terraces.

Farming Lots of terraces!

Animals (llamas) Beans and Maize (corn) Fruits and Peppers • Incans used terraces just like the Mayans. • Grew different crops at different altitudes (heights). • Need to do this to provide enough food.

Guinea pigs! • On special occasions the meat of the guinea pig would be eaten.

Economy • 1/3 of your earnings went to the priests. • 1/3 went to the king. • 1/3 went to the people and out of that you had to pay your taxes.

Inca Class Structure Nobles Everybody else Easy huh?

Class System • The Inca really only had two classes, nobles and commoners. • Commoners owned nothing and their lives were controlled by the nobles. • Most nobles did not work at all. • It was possible to move up in class but wasn’t common.

Religion

Religion • Many gods including a creator god. • Like the Aztec and Maya, Sun god (Inti) was important. • Ancestor worship was common too. Inti

Stonework • The Inca built incredibly strong houses out of stone. • They used no mortar or cement. • They cut the stones to perfectly fit into each other.

Inca Roads

Inca Roads • The Inca built an incredible network of roads and bridges. • They built them over mountains using bridges with no guard rails! • They were built for runners who worked as a postal system. • They could cross the empire in under 5 days.

Building the Empire • When the Inca took new lands they forced the people to learn Quecha and pay tribute. • The forced the leaders to move to another part of the empire and kept their children hostage in Cuzco. • If they behaved they could earn “Inca by Privilege” status.

Francisco Pizarro • A Spanish conquistador. • Claimed to be going to America to spread Christianity. • Real motives were gold, glory, and God.

Spanish Arrive • Francisco Pizaro arrives in Peru in 1532. • His army has guns and horses, giving them a huge advantage. • They trick Atahualpa and slaughter his warriors. • He promises to give them gold for his safety.