Deacribes the basic features of the Inca and their predecessors.

1. Andean AmericaAndean America
The Inca and Their DescendantsThe Inca and Their Descendants

2. The Inca: An IntroductionThe Inca: An Introduction
• One of the world’s largest empires
• Lacked writing
• An administrative socialistic economy
• Stone architecture without pulleys, draft
animals, or metal tools
• Longest highway in the ancient world

3. Location of Inca EmpireLocation of Inca Empire
• In South America
(Inset):
• The empire
extended from the
Pacific coast
• Through the Andes
into Amazon forest
• It extended from
Colombia in north
• To Chile in south.

4. Map of Inca EmpireMap of Inca Empire
• The capital, Cuzco, was in
the center of the empire
• Machu Picchu, the sacred
center, was northeast of
Cuzco
• The empire was 2800 miles
long
• Tiahuanaco was the main
city of the minority Aymara
• Other centers: Moche,
Chan Chan, Nazca, Huari

5. Inca: Road SystemInca: Road System
• The road system kept the
empire together
• Extent: Quito to north to
Santiago to the south
• Runners maintained
communication in the empire
• Tampus (garrisons) spaced
one day apart enforced central
control

6. Ecological Map of Central IncaEcological Map of Central Inca
EmpireEmpire
• The empire covered
diverse ecological zones:
• Light orange: dry coastal
area
• Purple: foothill forests
• Yellow: Andes highlands
• Green: Amazonian
rainforest
• Empire exploited resources
of each ecological zone

7. Andean Region: Coastal ClimateAndean Region: Coastal Climate
• Coastal regions were extremely dry
• Inversion prevented rainfall on the coastal plains
• Most of rainfall occurred in Andes
• 10% rainfall drained in coastal rivers, only
source of water on coast
• The southward current produced an upwelling of
coastal Pacific, yielding
• Rich plankton and other nutrients, which
• Sustained a rich supply of fish and shellfish
• First settlements began on the coast

8. Andean Regions: MountainsAndean Regions: Mountains
• Andes Mountains comprises:
• Peaks of mountains and
• Valleys, including with grassy flatlands (punas)
• Andes received most of the rainfall
• Snowmelt watered both interior habitations and
coast
• Wet, vegetated montaňas were on the eastern
side of the Andes
• Amazonia; tributaries received most of the
rainfall

9. Plant and Animal DomesticationPlant and Animal Domestication
• Plants:
• Potatoes: a tuber highly adapted to
cold climates
• Quinoa: a grain made into breads
• Maize introduced about 4,000 BC
• Animals
• Llama: Beast of burden, also used for
wool and meat
• Alpaca: Valued mainly for its wool
• Site: Telemarchay rock shelter shows
sequence from hunting to animal
domestication

10. Pre-Inca Regional EmpiresPre-Inca Regional Empires
• The Andes were
dominated by regional
empires
• Chan Chan and Moche
were dominant in the
northern Andes
• Sipán and Chan Chan
were coastal empires
• Nazca and the Aymara
Tiahuanaco dominated
the southern Andes

11. Inca Empire ExpansionInca Empire Expansion
• In the heart of the empire,
• Cuzco started as village ca AD 1000
• Probably developed into Inca capital
around 1440
• When troops under the first emperor
Pachakuti (map) defeated the rival
Chanca state
• Incas then expanded northward and
southward
• As they defeated each state, the Inca ,
• Allowed the people to retain their
organization and culture
• Map shows three phases of Inca
expansion

12. Road System: Transportation andRoad System: Transportation and
CommunicationCommunication
• Andean America: A well-developed
highway system
• Covered the 2600 mile length of
empire
• Access controlled by emperor and
imperial administrators
• Tampus (storehouses, garrisons, and
lodging) constructed a day’s travel
apart (see map)
• Beasts of burden (llamas) carried up to
100 pounds of cargo
• Most carriers were human
• Communication maintained by runners

13. Administrative Economy: Prototype ofAdministrative Economy: Prototype of
Socialism?Socialism?
• Emperors had a dual system of inheritance
• First born became emperor
• Others royalty inherited property
• Emperor thus depended on mitá, or labor tax
• Every adult provided labor after meeting
subsistence needs of clan (allyu)
• Clans provided labor for public works, state-
owned lands, army manpower, and road/bridge
construction
• Rewards: chicha, entertainment, textiles

14. Making a LivingMaking a Living
• The Inca had no large draft
animals except for the llama (a
camelid)
• They tilled the soil using the foot
plow (upper left)
• Staple crop was the potato; they
also grew maize, quinoa (a
grain), and others
• They raised duck, guinea pigs,
and camelids (llama, alpaca,
vicuña for meat)
• The camelids were also sources
of wool (lower left).

15. Inca Warehouses and AccountingInca Warehouses and Accounting
• All products—potatoes to corn
brew to meat—were warehoused
• Accounts were kept with quipus
• These were knotted cords that
were used for:
• Population censuses
• Animals (llamas)
• Warehouse contents of each
category

16. Quipus: A Substitute for WritingQuipus: A Substitute for Writing
• There is no evidence of writing so far.
• They did have a numerical system:
• Quipu System: knotted twine suspended from
main cord
• The further away the knot is from the cord, the
lower the number is
• It is thought to be a decimal system
• Some experts think it might be a binary-based
system

17. Quipu SystemQuipu System
• Lowest: ones, at string
farthest from cord
• That is 3 on the diagram
• Next: tens (40 in
diagram)
• Next: hundreds (600)
• Next: thousands toward
main cord (3000)
• Explain how you get the
figure 3643 to the right

18. Quipus: Census by Color CodeQuipus: Census by Color Code
• Color coding system
counting:
• Population, one color
• Tributes of labor,
another color
• Other forms of tribute
• Land distribution
• Military expenses
• There was a color for
each category

19. Sociopolitical Structure of the IncaSociopolitical Structure of the Inca
• The Inca had cobbled together smaller empires:
Chanca, Nazca, Moche, and others
• Emperor was said to be descended from the
Sun God
• Sun was the giver of all life
• Purity of the imperial lineage called for royal
incest—a emperor married his sister
• Mobility was extremely limited if existent at all

20. Administrative ApparatusAdministrative Apparatus
• Inca: An structured administrative state
• Divided into four quarters (hence the name
Tawanitimsuyu—Land of Four Quarters
• Further subdivided into waranqa of 1000
taxpayers (labor tax)
• Used a system of colonization called
mitmaq to
• Exploit new resources, and to prevent
revolts
• The empire was made up of diverse ethnic
groups
• Administrative towns, such as Huanaco
Pampa (left) also added centralized control

21. Public ArchitecturePublic Architecture
• Stone architecture was
widespread
• Inca and Predecessors used
uneven blocks of stone without
mortar (left)
• They were cut without metal
tools and lifted into place
without pulleys
• The blocks together so
precisely that a coin could not
be inserted between them
• Surface of Temple of the sun
was covered with a gold frieze,
or decorative plate.

22. Conquest of the IncaConquest of the Inca
• Conquest preceded by spread
of European disease (upper
left)
• Pizarro, like Cortes in Mexico,
used Indian allies to overthrow
the Inca (lower left)
• Inca were already divided by
war between Atahualpa and
Huascar, the two sons of the
deceased emperor, himself
dead from smallpox