Incan Civilization

South American Civilizations

• Many civilizations rose up in South American in the Andes Mountains– Chavin culture around 900 BC– Moche between 100 and 700 AD– Nazca from 200 BC to 600 AD

• Each culture had to adapt to the environment– In the mountains, it could be very hot during the day and very cold at

night, so the people had to dress accordingly (llama and alpaca)– Moche farmers developed ways to fertilize the soil for farming and

irrigated the land with canals– Messengers ran a relay from one city to another to carry news

because the cities weren’t close enough for one traveler• The Inca were just one smaller civilization of many until they

had the right ruler in place

Nazca Geoglyphs

Sapa Inca Comes to Power

• 1438: Skilled warrior Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui came to power in the Incan civilization and named himself Sapa Inca (emperor)

• Capital: Cuzco• Began conquering neighboring people and then

made them part of his army• His son continued his work and the Incan

Empire eventually was 2,500 miles long down the coast of South America

The Sapa Inca Makes Some Changes• The Incan religion and language was imposed throughout

the kingdom• The Emperor had ultimate control over the kingdom,

including ownership of all property– Therefore, there was no personal property– Trade was not a key part of the Incan Empire

• People worked for the Emperor and he made sure they were fed through a labor tax:– When he needed workers, he called up some people on a

rotating basis– The empire was united by a vast system of roads, bridges

(spanning deep gorges), and tunnels, so there was plenty of work for the millions of laborers

Incan Advancements and Accomplishments

• Incans didn’t use a writing system– instead, they used colored, knotted ropes called quipu to keep records

• Because the land was so steep (in the mountains), they adapted by using terrace farming: carving out flat strips of land and building walls to hold it in place

• Incas were masters at using copper, tin, bronze, silver, and gold• They were llama and alpaca farmers, master weavers, and

domesticated over 700 varieties of potatoes!• They used anesthesia and antiseptics for surgeries!• Incans were polytheistic but didn’t rely on human sacrifices to

please their gods; instead, they offered sacrifices of food, clothes, and drinks to home guardian spirits

All Roads Lead to Rome Cuzco• The vast system of roads helped unite the empire• The army was able to travel quickly to any part of the

empire and put down any rebellion• News (using runner relays) was able to travel quickly to the

emperor as well• Cuzco was full of people from all the different cultures that

had been conquered as well as the Incan Temple of the Sun• In 1525, the emperor died suddenly– A civil war broke out over who would rule next– This was bad timing; it left the empire weak right before the

Spanish arrived– The Incan Empire was conquered by the Spanish