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Photo analysis. 1. 2. 3. 4. The land of the Incas. Early peoples of peru. Before the Incas came to power in the 1400s, a number of smaller civilizations existed in the Andes region. These included the Chav ín, Mochica, & Nazca.
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Photo analysis 1 2 3 4
Early peoples of peru Before the Incas came to power in the 1400s, a number of smaller civilizations existed in the Andes region. These included the Chavín, Mochica, & Nazca. When the Incas gained power, they quickly conquered an empire that stretched over 2,500 miles down the Andes and along the Pacific coast.
The sapa inca • Pachacuti founded the Incan empire and declared himself the “Sapa Inca” in 1438. • The Sapa Inca exercised absolute power. Every person, piece of land, and animal was his. He served as the emperor, chief priest, commander-in-chief, and the son of the Sun God. • Gold was his symbol and was called “sweat from the sun.”
The sapa inca • The Sapa Inca never wore the same clothes twice. Each day the clothes from the day before were ceremonially burned.
Ruling the empire • The Incas imposed their laws, language, and religion on all the peoples they conquered. Incan officials taught conquered peoples to live like the Incas. • Nobles ruled the provinces & were answerable to the Sapa Inca. • Crimes were seen as crimes against the Sapa Inca. Murder, stealing, damaging bridges, entering the rooms of the Chosen Women, and laziness were all punishable by death.
Keeping records • The Incas did not have a written language. • They used a device called a quipu to keep their records. The quipu was made of a collection of knotted, colored strings.
Connecting the empire • The Incas built over 12,000 miles of roads throughout their empire. • Runners were stationed along the roads to relay messages quickly. • The roads were to be used by the army and by traders. Ordinary people could not use the roads. • They built spectacular suspension bridges over deep ravines and rivers. • The Royal Road was over 1400 miles long and usually arrow straight. It was made of dovetailed stones and had fresh water running alongside for travelers and animals.
Daily life in the empire • The Incas strictly regulated the lives of their subjects. • People lived in close-nit communities called ayllus. Leaders assigned jobs to each family and organized the ayllus to work the land. • Official arranged marriages. Girls were usually married around age 12 and boys were married around age 24.
Inca Farming • They developed a system of terrace farming that allowed them to farm land high in the mtns. • Each family worked a portion of land and owed a portion of its crops to both the Sapa Inca and to the Sun god.
Incan Religion • The Incas were a polytheistic people. • The main god was the Sun God, Inti. • They developed a twelve month calendar where each month had a festival dedicated to Inti. • A powerful class of priests existed to serve the needs and desires of the gods.
The role of women • At the age of 10, girls were judged according to social rank and beauty. • They were divided into two groups – the “Chosen Women” and the “left-out girls.” • The “left-out girls” returned to their villages to live an ordinary life of hard work. • The “Chosen Women,” or aclla trained for lives of service to the Sapa Inca. As they got older, they would become priestesses, wives and concubines of nobles and public officials, wives of the Sapa Inca, and some would be sacrificed. To be sacrificed was a great honor.
Remnants of the incas • The Incas excelled in medicine and left behind procedures for using antiseptics and performing surgeries on the skull. • Gold was prevalent in the Incan society and many artifacts exist today as a result of the Spanish conquest at the height of the Incan civilization. • Many examples of Incan architecture remain today. The buildings were constructed so well that they have withstood earthquakes and other natural disasters. The layout of the city of Machu Picchu still exists high in the Andes Mountains.
