Rise and Fall of the Incas: A Legacy of Innovation and Conquest

1. Mesoamerica Outcome: The Incas

2. Constructive Response Question • Who were the Incas and what did they do?

4. What Will we learn? • Environment • Cities • Language/Writing • Economy • Government • Religion • Achievements

5. Height of Incan Empire • 1438-1533 AD

6. The Incas • Environment • South America • Peru • Andes Valley of Cuzco • Ecuador to Chile

8. The Incas • Cities • Cuzco • All roads lead to Cuzco • Heart of the Incan Empire • Machu Picchu • Sun temple, central plaza, public buildings

9. Cuzco

10. Machu Picchu

11. Machu Picchu

12. The Incas • Lang/Writing • Quechua: official spoken language • No written language • Quipu were used for gov’t record keeping

13. The Incas • Economy • Run by the gov’t • Ayllu, or extended family group: • Organized into groups of 10, 100, 1000, & 10,000 • Built irrigation canals • Terrace farming • Stored/distributed food

14. The Incas • Gov’t • Total control over economic & social life • Divided territory into smaller, manageable units • Built cities & schools in conquered areas

15. The Incas • Religion • Few key nature spirits • Creator God: Viracocha • Sun God: Inti • Unmarried young men & women sometimes used for lifetime of religious service

16. The Incas • Achievements • No iron tools or the wheel • Road system was 14,000 miles long • Runners were used like a postal system

17. Fall of the Incas • Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro arrived in 1532 • Inca leader Atahualpa was taken prisoner after not accepting Christianity • He offered two full rooms of silver and one full room of gold • Atahualpa was strangled on August 29. 1533 • The Spanish were able to take over afterwards with no resistance

18. Death of Atahualpa

19. Constructive Response Question • Who were the Incas and what did they do?