A quick overview of the Incas Empire

1. Incas
Civilization

2. INTRODUCTION
• The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru circa 1400 and 1534 CE, and eventually
extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south,
making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas. Government and power was held at
Cuzco, the Inca capital, which was considered the navel of the world. Eventually 40,000 Incas
would govern some 10 million subjects speaking over 30 different languages. Consequently,
the centralised Inca government, employing a vast network of administrators, governed over a
patchwork empire which, in practice, touched local populations to varying degrees. Inca
government, therefore, relied heavily on a combination of personal relations, state largesse,
ritual exchange, law enforcement and military might.

3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
• The rise of the Inca Empire was spectacularly quick.
First, all speakers of the Inca language Quechua
were given privileged status, and this noble class
then dominated all the important roles within the
empire. Eventually, a system of tax and
administration was introduced which consolidated the
power of Cuzco. The Incas themselves called their
empire Tawantinsuyo meaning “ The Land of the
Four Quarters”.
• The Incas imposed their religion, administration, and
even art on conquered people. However, they also
brought certain benefits such as food redistribution in
times of environmental disaster, better storage
facilities for foodstuffs, roads and military assistance.

4. THE INCA KING.
• The Incas kept lists of their hereditary kings (Sapa
Inca, meaning Unique Inca). The queen (Qoya/Coya)
was known as Mamancik or “Our Mother” and had
some influence on her husband and her family. She
could select which son will become the official heir to
the throne and could serve in absence of Sapa Inca.
The Qoya/Coya also had significant wealth of her own
which she could use as she wished.
• The Sapa Inca had an absolute power. He controlled
politics, society, the empire's food stores, and served
as a commander-in-chief of the army. Sapa Inca was
treated as a god : he drank from the gold and silver
cups, wore the silver shoes, and lived in a palace
furnished with the finest textiles. Inca King was
treated in a special way even after his death – he had
to be mummified and , later, “consulted” with for their
opinion on any pressing state affairs.

5. THE MOST KNOWN KINGS WERE PACHACUTI (1438-1463), THUPA (1471-
1493) AND ATTAWALLPA (1532-1533).

6. INCA GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMY
• The Inca empire was exceptionally successful at mobilizing all members of society towards a unified
goal, with everyone receiving shelter and food in return for their service. To achieve such control, they
adopted a remarkable system of government based on the decimal system. A local ruler would control
10 families, while the next boss up controlled 100, and the one above him 1,000, and so on. The more
important rulers were elected every year and there was very little internal conflict until the very end of
their reign.
• The success of empire’s centralized economy led to social harmony and to its fast expansion. The
Inca’s central planning economy was, perhaps, the most efficient and successful ever seen. Collective
labor was at the center of the economic productivity. Every member was obligated to contribute with
his labor as a tribute and in exchange the food, clothing, housing, education and health care security
were received.
• The Inca economy did not use money as an exchange unit or markets to trade. However they did
trade with other tribes outside their boundaries. Every unit of production was carefully planned and
distributed where it was needed

7. Religion
Incas practiced several polytheistic religions
Inti , the sun, was the supreme god and the
most important deity in the Inca Civilization.
Inti was the father of the Sapa Inca
Viracocha was the God of Sun, Moon and
Stars
Mama Quilla, the moon, was the sun’s wife, sister and
mother of the Incas, she was represented by the Coya.
Mama Quilla was believed to protect women. Mama Quilla
was the daughter of Wiracocha.

8. ARCHITECTURE
• Most Incan cities did not have walls around them.
• The architecture was very formal but yet simple.
Stone was the material of choice and was finely worked
to produce a precise arrangement of interlocking blocks
in the finest buildings. The stone was of three types:
limestone, green diorite porphyry, and black andesite.
The vast majority of Inca buildings were
rectangular and most of these had a
single entrance and were composed of
only one room as dividing walls are not
common in Inca design.

9. The most famous example of Inca architecture is the Royal
Estates of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is sometimes
referred to as a lost city because it escaped the Spaniard's
destruction due to its remote location, where it was
hidden from view. It is a sacred site that had religious
importance to the Incas.
Machu Picchu

10. AGRICULTURE
• Living among the steep peaks of the Andes, the Incas lacked level fields for farming. To solve this
problem, they developed a system of terraces that they constructed throughout the empire like giant
green staircases.

11. Building stepped terraces help the Incas create farmland, and the clever construction of each terrace
gave crops the best chance of survival. The first step absorbed the heat from the sun during the day and
kept the crops from freezing in the chilling nighttime temperatures. Each terrace was filled with a base
layer of medium-sized gravel, which was topped with a mixture of fine sand and more gravel. On top of
this, farmers placed a layer of topsoil into which the seeds of their primary crops – corn, tomatoes and
potatoes- would be planted.

12. Occasionally, the terraces would fail to be productive. If this happened, the Incas would turn to a
planting method known as "the three sisters." First, they would plant corn. Then, when the corn reached
an adequate height, beans would go in the ground and grow up the stalks of the corn. Finally, they'd
plant squash in the remaining spaces. This not only produced three crops from one terrace, but the
beans fixed nitrogen -- making it available as a nutrient in the soil -- for the corn. The squash acted as
mulch for the soil, keeping it moist and relatively weed free.

13. INVENTIONS AND
ACHIEVEMENTS.
• Because they counted everything a conquered tribe owned, they needed a way to remember everything
they had counted. They invented the quipus. The quipus had colored strings tied to a main string. The
color of the strings and the distance between the knots tied in each string told a story - how many of this,
and what was going on. A special training was required to be a quipus reader.
The quipus

14. The Inca invented a calendar they called time makers or time watchers. This calendar was tower.
Time was important to the Inca for religious purposes.Each calendar month had a different religious
festival.
The Incan calendar was divided in 12 months; each month had 3 three weeks and each week was
equal to 10 days.
The calendar

15. The Incas, of course, didn't invent the road -- that honor would no doubt go to the Romans -- but they did invent a
network of roads and highways that connected their territory on a scale never seen before in South America. At its peak,
the Incan highway system covered nearly 25,000 miles with roads that ranged from 3 to 13 feet in width and consisted of
everything from simple dirt paths to passageways covered in fine paving stones . The network had The Imperial Highway
System, or Capac-Nan. These roads ran on a more or less north-south trajectory, smaller roads connected the two main
ones with all of the provincial centers of the empire. Parties could travel approximately 20 miles per day along the Capac-
Nan. Resting stations known as tampus were located along the roadways at approximately the same distance to offer
travelers food, lodging and a chance to resupply.
Incan roads.

16. INCAN ROAD RUNNERS
• The Incan empire's system of roadways not only satisfied the smooth workings of business and military
maneuvers, it also functioned as a highly efficient communication network. Runners known as chasqui
were stationed along the roads at approximately 0.9-mile intervals. These runners could verbally convey
messages across the empire or even deliver small items. It was estimated that the system could function
at approximately 150 miles per day, which allowed an emperor, stationed at the eastern side of the
empire, to have fresh foods delivered to him in under two days from the Pacific Ocean nearly 250 miles
away.

17. Rope Bridges
In the rugged, gorge-filled terrain of the Andes Mountains, there were places where roads alone would fail
to provide adequate transportation. The Incas quickly came up with a solution: the bridges!
Since the Incas had long been experts at weaving materials from natural fibers, the Incas used rope to
construct suspension bridges across mountain canyons, unlike the arched stone bridges built in Europe at
the time. Since there were no wheeled vehicles, the rope bridges worked beautifully for foot traffic.
During bridge construction, large rope cables were formed from smaller ropes woven from llama and
alpaca wool, as well as from grass and cotton. These were attached to stone structures on either side of
the crossing. More of the thick cables were stretched to form handrails as well as the floor of the bridge,
which was then covered with wood and sticks.

18. All of the Incan rope bridges are now gone, except for one. Each June in Huinchiri, Peru, four Quechua
communities on two sides of a gorge join together to build a bridge out of grass, creating a form of
ancient infrastructure that dates back at least five centuries to the Inca Empire. The year’s previous bridge
is cut free and plunges into the Apurímac River below.
Building the bridge starts a festival that lasts for three days. People from nearby villages harvest the
grasses that grow on either side of the bridge and each family weaves them into a 50-meter (55-yard)
length of rope. Then the Keshwa Chaca bridge is renewed for another year, as it has been for five
centuries

19. Freeze-drying
In the highest altitudes of the Andes, freezing temperatures are pretty much guaranteed at night. The
Incas used this to their advantage by bringing potatoes to these chilly environments and letting them
freeze beneath a cloth. The residents of the wintry villages would then walk on the cloths in the morning
to squeeze out the moisture from the potatoes. The repeated process would result in freeze-dried
potatoes known as chuño. Freeze-dried food was lightweight. This allowed soldiers to carry large
quantities of it with them on their campaigns with relatively little effort. Also, it was extremely durable and
could be kept for years without being refrigerated. This made an excellent backup food source in case of
drought, natural disaster or any other type of crop failure. Even today, in the case of crop failure, Andean
highland natives will rely upon chuño to get through the difficult times.

20. Brain surgery.
The Incas worked out that it was possible to save the lives
of their injured men using a primitive form of brain surgery.
The operations were designed to reduce inflammation caused by
serious head injuries and incorporated basic anesthetics such
as tobacco and alcohol to reduce discomfort. After several centuries
of practice the Incas refined the procedure and were thought to have
achieved a success rate as high as 90%.
Incas loved music, often perforems during their
religios ceremonies and invented many wind and
percussion instruments. Panpipes, drums, bells
and flutes were the most popular.
Music

21. Art was an important part of Incas. They were extremely skilled at pottery,
metalwork, and textiles. They created everything by hand and took great
care in making sure every little detail was correct. The Inca culture was
known for their creative, geometric, and symmetric designs. The art the
Incas was always bright and colorful with geometric patterns and parallel
lines. They liked to use a repetition of designs as well as symmetry in their
art.
Incas Art

22. Fall of the Incas
1525 - Emperor Huayna Capac dies from a plague. This was likely
smallpox brought by the Spanish conquistadors. A large portion of the
Inca population will die from smallpox and other diseases over the next
several years.
1525 - The sons of Emperor Huayna, Atahualpa and Huascar, fight
over the crown. The Inca Empire fights a civil war for the next five years.
1532 - Atahualpa defeats Huascar and becomes the emperor. At the
same time, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrives in Peru.
Pizarro captures Atahualpa and holds him for ransom.
1533 - The Spanish execute Atahualpa and install Manco Inca as
Emperor.
1535 - Francisco Pizarro founds the city of Lima, Peru and names it the
capital of the region. Many Incas are enslaved, or die of diseases.
1537 - Manco Inca flees to Vilcabamba and forms an Inca government
separate from the Spanish.
1541 - Francisco Pizarro is killed.
1572 - The Spanish execute the last of the Inca emperors, Tupac
Amaru, signaling the end of the Inca Empire.