Incas

By: Jimmy, Owen, Clare, Ava

The Arts

Making textiles for clothing was one of the most important Incan arts. The quality and design of a person’s clothes were a sign of status. The delicate cloth worn by Incan nobles often featured bright colors and bold geometric patterns. Incan women also made feathertunics, or long shirts, weaving feathers from jungle birds right

into the cloth. Fashioning objects out of gold was another important art. The Incas prized gold, which they called the “sweat of the sun.” Gold covered almost every inch inside the Temple of the Sun in the Incan capital city of Cuzco. Incan goldsmiths also fashioned masks, sculptures, knives, and jewelry.

Technology

The Incas built roads across the length and width of their empire. To create routes through steep mountain ranges, they carved staircases and gouged tunnels out of rock. They also built suspension bridges over rivers.

Stable Food Supply

Inca people were never hungry

Social Structure

The Emperor: Also know as Sapa Inca. The ruler

Nobles: The next step below emperors

Commoners:Most people in the Inca Empire were commoners who worked as farmers and herders

Government

The Incas had a give-and-take philosophy about governing their empire: They generally allowed conquered territories to operate in the same way they had before conquest, as long as the people living there fulfilled certain requirements, particularly by providing extensive labor to the empire. Though the Incas imposed their religion on the conquered states, they also adopted the gods of the defeated people into the empire's pantheon (all of the gods that a particular group of people worship). They ensured that every farmer had enough land to farm, and they provided craftspeople with materials for their arts. But life for the peoples conquered by the Incas was far from free. In order to maintain control over such a vast area and over millions of people, the Incas created an incredibly complex administrative system. Officials representing the empire carefully managed the work of the conquered people, demanding the maximum amount of work out of every individual.

Writing

The Incas did not have a written language. Instead, they developed an ingenious substitute: the knotted sets of strings called quipus. The Incas used quipus as memory aids when sending messages and recording information.

Religion

Inca believed in many gods. They worshiped many deities and sacred places. Viracocha was the creator of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars. They believed Sun was the most important servant of Viracocha. To the Inca, Sun was the life saver. Sun was the father of Inca emperor.

Empire

Did not start from scratch and developed over time

they adopted ideas and institutions that had been pioneered by earlier cultures.

Had strong leaders with powerful armies that gained land through conquest

for more than two hundred years, the Incas increased their territory by only about a dozen miles around Cuzco.The Incas began expanding their empire in 1438, when they were attacked by the neighboring Chancas. The Incan emperor and many citizens fled Cuzco. But one of his sons, Yupanqui, stayed behind and led his army against the Chancas. Incan legend says that the stones on the battlefield turned into powerful warriors.

Developed systems and bureaucracies to manage people and resources

It drew upon the administrative forms and practices of previous Andean civilizations such as the Wari Enpire and Tiwanaku.

Built roads and expanded trade networks, connecting people and sharing ideas

Roads and Messengers To manage the empire, Incan leaders came to rely on a system of roads. The two main routes were the coastal road and the inland road, which was called the Royal Road. Smaller roads connected themSome historians have said that the Incas’ system of roads was as impressive as that of ancient Rome. About 15,000 miles of road linked all corners of the empire. The roads crossed tropical jungles, high mountains, and raging rivers. Incan officials used the roads to travel throughout the empire.There was a shelter along the roads every 15 to 30 miles to give travelers a place to. The roads allowed the emperor at Cuzco to communicate with officials in distant places.

Had established religions, but also often allowed other religions to be practiced

The Incas had the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The had oral traditions, believing in reincarnation, and death was a passage to a new world full of difficulties.

Declined for different reasons, but often because of conflicts over power

It could be because of natural disaster the Inca's were located in the Andes mountains.