May 17, 2015
Major Pre-Columbian Major Pre-Columbian CivilizationsCivilizations
Aztecs
Mayas
Incas
1200 CE – 1550 CE
Where did the Inca live?
The Inca controlled an empire in the Andes Mountain region of South America.
Location: Andes Mountains
and Pacific coast of South America
Cuzco was the capital (Present day Peru)
Religion
PolytheisticPrimary god was Inti, the sun god.
Religion
Belief in ReincarnationPracticed cranial deformation
-Wrapping tight cloth straps around the heads of newborns to alter the shape of their soft skulls into a cone-like shape
Religion: Paracas Skulls
Religion:
Gods linked to the forces of nature
Religion tied to routines of life
Sapa Inca (Emperor) performed religious rituals
Government: Royal FamilyThe Sapa Inca (Emperor)
– Had absolute power– Was the Son of the Sun– The religious leader
1438 began a far-reaching expansion under Sapa Inca Pachacuti-Cusi Yupanqui ("earth-shaker“)
His son: Tupac Yupanqui– Brought much of the Andes mountains under Inca control– roughly modern Peru and Ecuador
• Tupac Amaru = Peruvian Revolutionary• Tupac Amaru Shakur = American Rap God
Government: Management
The Empire – Divided into four regions
• Tawantinsuyu, or the four parts together• Central government with the Inca at its head
– The capital at Cuzco
• Four provincial governments – Chinchasuyu (NW)– Antisuyu (NE)– Contisuyu (SW)– Collasuyu (SE)
Government: Empire BuildingMethods Used:
–Conquest –Peaceful assimilation–Intermarriage–Economic reliance–Economic isolation
Government: Empire BuildingIncorporated:
– Western South America– the Andean mountain ranges– large parts of modern Ecuador– modern Peru– western and south central Bolivia– northwest Argentina– north and north-central Chile – southern Colombia
Uniting the Empire Organization: PhysicalMassive road network builtThrough mountains Across rivers and gorges
This made it much easier for
the Spanish to get around
Organization: SocialGovernment Officials in each area:.
assigned each family a specific job
arranged marriages
organized mandatory public service building projects
Achievements: Built road systems through Andes that
stretched over 12,000 miles (made of stone)
Roads united the Empire Engineering allowed them to build
massive stone buildings, no cement Complex record keeping system
– The Quipu
Stonework
The Inca constructed stone temples without using mortars yet the stones fit together so well that a knife would not fit between the stones.
Terrace farming on the side of the Andes Mountains
used llamasgrew 700 varieties of
potatoes
Agriculture
The The QuipuQuipu: : An Incan An Incan DatabaseDatabase
Machu PicchuMachu Picchu
Machu PicchuMachu Picchu
Incan Terrace Incan Terrace FarmingFarming
Incan Suspension Bridges
Incan Suspension Bridges
Inca Gold & SilverInca Gold & Silver
Incan Ceramic JarsIncan Ceramic Jars
PeanutPeanutPeanutPeanut PotatoPotatoPotatoPotato SquashSquashSquashSquash
Cacao Cacao GodGod
Cacao Cacao GodGod
Cacao PodCacao PodCacao PodCacao Pod
Medical Advances
The Inca performed successful skull surgery.
The Inca also used medicines to make patients unconscious during surgery
Incan MummiesIncan Mummies
Fall of the Inca
BUT ultimately, it was Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro that brought about the fall of the Inca Empire.
Possible Reasons for decline:
Superior military technology of the Spanish (Francisco Pizarro)
Divisions and discontent among Indians the Incas ruled over
Disease brought by Europeans weakened the Inca
What happened to the Inca?
Civil war in the empire broke out
ANDSmallpox spread, killing 65% of the Inca
ANDThe Spanish arrived with military devestation
Where are the Inca now?
Currently descendants live in the Andes
Speak Quechua
ANDThe Spanish arrived with military devestation
Inca Video Clip
http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=2301