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The Inca Create a Mountain Empire

The Inca Create a Mountain Empire. 1) Ancient Cultures. The Inca built their empire on cultural foundations thousands of years old. The Chimu civilization preceded the Inca. Inka.

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The Inca Create a Mountain Empire

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  1. The Inca Create a Mountain Empire

  2. 1) Ancient Cultures • The Inca built their empire on cultural foundations thousands of years old. • The Chimu civilization preceded the Inca. • Inka Incan nobles were called “Orejones” for the large plugs they wore in their earlobes. The plugs above are traced back to the Chimu.

  3. Mysterious Machu Picchu

  4. 2) Royal mummies • The Incas believed their rulers descended from the sun god. • Dead rulers were preserved as sacred mummies which were brought to special events.

  5. 3) Pachacuti • In 1438 a powerful ruler, Pachacuti, took the Inca throne. • Pachacuti used diplomacy in conquest. • By 1500 the Inca empire stretched 2500 miles along the western coast of South America.

  6. 4) Incan System of Government • Conquered territories divided into manageable units • Central bureaucracy

  7. 5) Incan Language • Quechua was the single official language of the Incan empire.

  8. 6) Cities • Inca built cities in conquered areas • Architecture the same throughout the empire • All roads led the to the capital, Cuzco. The Inca were skilled stonemasons who used granite and limestone to build their cities.

  9. 7) Road system • The Incan road system was a 14,000 mile long network of roads and bridges crossing high mountains and harsh deserts. • Chasquis were postal runners who carried messages by relay.

  10. 8) Economy • The Incan state controlled the production and distribution of goods. • Very little private trade. • “Welfare state” • Land ownership divided three ways: • State lands • Religious lands • Community lands

  11. Chunos The Incans developed a method for freeze-drying potatoes which could be kept indefinitely.

  12. QUIPU The Inca never developed a writing system. The Inca did keep records of dates and accounts with a an accounting device known as quipu, which was a set of knotted strings.

  13. 9) Religion Religion was state controlled. The Incans focused on nature spirits. • Creator god Viracocha • Sun god Inti (every Incan king was a descendant of Inti) • Young women, mamakuna, were drafted for a lifetime of religious service. • Young men, yamacuna, also served as full-time workers for the state religion.

  14. Recognizing purpose • Ayllu • Community organizations working for the common good • Governing based on the decimal system with a chain of command • Groups of 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000, each with a chief. • Mita • State demand on subjects • Tribute, primarily labor • All citizens had to do manual labor for the state each year.

  15. Decline of the Inca Empire • The Inca empire was in its glory in the early 1500s. • After King Huayna Capac died in 1525, civil war broke out between his sons. • War tore the empire apart. A gift of butterflies was a bad omen for King Huayna Capac.

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