Incas

** Incas "//The Children of the Sun//" **

 //**Information on the Incas culture is very limited, that is why many historians consider part of it a myth and the rest of it is considered a part of Peruvian history. The Incas ruled almost all of South America for approximately 100 years and they existed for a 300 year span. This is one of the main reasons why most historians are dumbfounded by the idea that an empire as powerful as the Incas didn't leave an ineradicable mark in history.**//
 * // 1438 to 1533 //**

THE CULTURE OF INCAS

**Religion **

Like many civilizations, the Incas worshiped gods having to do with their surroundings. These Gods included the Gods of nature, the sun god, the god of thunder, moon, rainbows, mountain tops, stars, planets, and many more. The Incas believed that their gods could get involved in their everyday lives and could either help you or harm you. To escape their Gods anger or disapproval, they worshiped all Gods every day. Part of the Incas beliefs were that their dead ancestors and their Gods communicated with them using indirect signs like dreams, omens among other things. Priests were held at a very high esteem because they were believed to be able to read the signs. They saw them everywhere whether it was how bright a fire was or how fast a plant grew.  Compared to many religions that developed later in time, the Incas believed in an afterlife. Not in the way the monotheistic religions did, but something more along the lines of what the Egyptians believed. Life the Egyptians, they mummified their dead. The mummies of dead rulers stayed in their palaces and were treated as if they were still alive. Servants brought them items, while families stopped by and asked them for advice on daily activities. On parade days and other special occasions mummies were even carried through the streets. The very poor also mummified their dead. They were set in above ground tombs and they were free to enter and reenter the tombs, leaving gifts or taking them back. Women in mourning wore black and they cut their hair really short. Families normally held the funeral for eight days. This is similar to what the Inca did to care for their deceased.

**Art and Architecture **

Though there isn't much information on the Incas one thing for sure is that their architectural skills were exceptional. Like the Egyptians and their pyramids, there is a lot of speculation about how the Incas were able to create the precision seen in their stone cutting. The Incas cut their stones with so much precision that they didn't need mortar because the stones fit so well. There are a few theories about how the Incas accomplished these architectural feats but a few of them overlap with structures made after the Spanish conquest. The art background of the Incas was also pretty vague. A lot of it was destroyed by the Christian Spaniards because they didn't like the idea of polytheistic society. Some were melted for their gold and silver. The Incas preferred functionality over extensive decoration. The tapestries on the other hand were elaborate. They took a long time to make and they reached knee length. They were used to bind political contracts so the tapestries displayed political power.

**Languages ** Quechua was the language of the Incas. It is still spoken by a large percentage of Peru's inhabitants today.
 * Social Structure **

The Incas had social groups, as in social statuses. In order for a family to be moved up to the nest higher social group, the husband of the family needed an approval from the emperor. The amount of llamas that a family had was very important, because it determined your social status. In order to gain more land people either had to buy it or trade for it. When the Incas captured other cities they didn't kill them, they let them rule as long as the followed the Inca's rules. The Inca Empire became weakened by Atahualpa’s attack; the empire later fell to the Spaniards.

The very bottom of the totem pole in the Incas social structure was the //ayllu//, a clan of families living together in a restricted area and sharing land, animals, and crop. The community could be small or large. In some places it was even a town. No one owned land. Land was owned by the community or the emperor. Each autumn the land would be divided to each family and depending on the size of your family that would determine how much land you received. Everyone was born into and //Ayllu// and some people were blessed with the opportunity to work their way up. Women who had this opportunity were called "//chosen women//" These women usually had special talents or were simply just beautiful. Many of these women became wives of officials or concubines to the Inca himself. <span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">After the Ayllu was the craftsmen and architects, due to their skill and how much they contributed to the Incas culture and buildings they were very high on the Incas social ladder. Then it was the nobles. They were usually the priest or the relatives of past emperors or current ones.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">TECHNOLOGY OF THE INCAS

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Technology ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The Incas had very complex roads, buildings, and terraced fields. Their pyramids are some of the most fascinating, for instance Machu Picchu. The Incas were very interested in Astronomy; they studied the stars and planets and tried to predict the seasons. They also developed mathematical calculations. The Incas used mnemonic device called the quipu. This consisted of a main cord from which dangled a series of smaller colored strings into which knots were tied.<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They were used to keep record of llamas, population, tribute, and soldiers.Yet, the Incas did not have a written language. These officials that kept track of these records were called "//remembers//." The rememberers knew the themes of each //quipu.//

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Demography ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Inca Empire was located on the western side of South America. The Incas settled by the Andes Mountain range. The Incas grew crops such as corn, grain, coffee, and potatoes. The Incas ate what they grew. The climate in their region was rather cold.

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Interactions ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The Incas had social groups, as in social statuses. In order for a family to be moved up to the nest higher social group, the husband of the family needed an approval from the emperor. The amount of llamas that a family had was very important, because it determined your social status. In order to gain more land people either had to buy it or trade for it. When the Incas captured other cities they didn't kill them, they let them rule as long as the followed the Inca's rules. The Inca Empire became weakened by Atahualpa’s attack; the empire later fell to the Spaniards.



<span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">During the reign of Inca Roca in 1350, the Incas had conquered the areas close to Lake Titicaca in the south as well as the valleys to the immediate east of Cusco in its entirety. Once the north and east region around the Upper River fell he Incas wasted no time and their territory began to spread westward. On their journey to the west the Incas ran into two tribes, the Soras and Rucanas, who they later surrounded and overcame. Around the same time the Incas bridged the Apurimac River and its immense canyon. It was the largest bridge the Incas had ever built. They called it Huacachaca, "the Holy Bridge." This even led to the meeting between the Incas and the Chanca, another powerful tribe. The Chanca later invaded Cusco and were completely defeated. When the new Inca, Pachuacuti, was named, under his reign the Incas went northward as far as Lake Junin, south to Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, and then north again as far as Quito, Ecuador. The last Inca was Huayna Capac. He came to power the year after Columbus landed in America in 1493 and made his last conquests. He extended the empire to the far north in Rumichaca which now marks the boundary between Ecuador and Columbia.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 19pt;">ECONOMICS OF THE INCAN EMPIRE

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif;">From mountains, beautiful coast, southern desert, and eastern rain forest the Incan Empire was spread over an environmentally diverse area. The limited pastoral and growing areas for certain crops and limited hunting made it necessary for the Incan Empire to create a centralized power that could run smoothly and benefit many.

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Economic Systems ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Unlike most developed empires and civilizations, Incas wealth was weighted by land ownership, labor force, and possession of state herds. On a religious note, labor was not an option for any social class. Upper classes provided leadership and intellectual labor, while the lower class provided physical labor as a tribute to Cuzco. Take land as an example of how the economic system was run; to sustain life in the community local government officials divided sections of land. A //tupu//, or a section of land needed to sustain the lives of two people, was received by a couple on their wedding day. As family size increased within a home, more land was apportioned to that //tupu//. The excess lands remained reserved for the gods and local power. The lower classes members cultivated //tupus// before a couple who receive it, noting the significance of community over individual importance. All goods collected from these excess lands were stored in regional storehouses to show Incan wealth and more commonly to feed military units.

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Business Organization: Labor ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the lower classes, Inca farmers worked with cotton, potatoes, squash and maize in irrigated fields, while they mined silver, copper, tin, and gold. These labors fulfilled their tribute to Cuzco as well as help their economy grow. Domesticated llamas and alpacas were used to produce textiles and cotton. Incas created a maize based beer called //chichi,// along with their fishery work along the coast. Trade was mainly done with the Incan Empire because the many specializations and divisions of labor. This reinforces the idea of community [unity] over the Incan individual. All economic information and records were kept with //quipus.//

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Industrialization ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In order to connect the corners of the Incan Empire, they built an amazing network of roads. Some people believe that the road system was, or at least a portion “inherited” from previous conquered peoples. The Incas increased its size and perfected its functionality for the purpose of transporting troops across the empire, maintaining and expanding their borders. Also, Incans built relay stations (about 2-3 kilometers apart) where //chasqui// or runners would be stationed to deliver messages- this made it possible to transmit messages across the Empire in a matter of days!

**<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Socialism ** <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Incan economic system was necessary because it affected the many aspects of Incan culture such as social structure. For example laborers use as currency and the social and political aspects of life were a direct reflection of the daily jobs performed by the lower class. This also led to the belief of working for the community’s benefit rather than to work for one’s own fulfillment.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 25px;">POLITICS **<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Forms of Government ** <span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Though short-lived the Incan political system was very sophisticated for its time. The Empire was ruled by an aristocracy and the government was stacked like a pyramid in relation to power and quantity. At the peak of the pyramid was Sapa Inca, known as the king and a descendent of the Sun God Inti. Following him were the 16 members of //Apus,// or the Supreme Council. The Inca Empire was separated into four sections together known as 'Ttahuantin-suyu' or "land of the four quarters"10 Each //Apus// contained 4 men; each of Incas four sections had 4 //Apus//. Each quarter was overseen by a governor called //Apu-cuna.// And within these 4 quarters they are separated in the communities called //ayllus.// The governor was in charge of keeping of with the land and people making sure it all ran smoothly. Next in the pyramid were the officials; army officers, priests, judges, and other noble classmen. Tax collectors followed, and at the very bottom of the pyramid was the laborers and working class. This is where the majority of the Inca population was therefore they were the force behind the economy and the reason for the political system. <span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> During Pachacuti reign, he reorganized the kingdom of Cuzco, the administrative, political, and military center of the empire, into the Tahuantinsuyu, which consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four regional governments with strong leaders. In order to receive information about political organizations, military might, or wealth throughout his kingdom, Pachacuti sent out spies to regions in his empire.
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Pachacuti **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Works Cited.

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