Inca

1. Inca 1200-1535 AD The early history of the Incas is a mystery. They never developed a system of writing, so we must rely on the writings of their Spanish conquerors and their ancient artifacts.

2. Inca The Largest Empire in South America http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-rise-of-the-incas (3:35)

3. Machu Picchu http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/peru_machupicchu (2 minutes)

4. Incan Government • Inca was the title of the ruler of the Incan empire. • At first, the word “Inca” meant the children of the sun god Inti and later became the title of the ruler. • Today, we also use Inca to mean the people of the tribe.

5. Incan Government • The ancient Incas believed their ruler was a descendent of the gods. • He was worshipped as a god and ruler. • He had absolute power.

6. Incan Religion • The Incas worshipped many gods and goddesses. • The major Incan god was the god of nature, Viracocha, the creator. • Another Incan god was Inti, the sun god. • Gold was the symbol of Inti. • The sun god temple is the most important structure in Cuzco, the major city of Incas.

7. Incan Religion- Sun God Temple

8. Incan Religion- Divining • They believed they could learn the will of the gods by divining. • Divining is studying objects to find magic signs. • Priests would look at things such as animal organs, flames of fire, or movements of animals. From these they would try to discover if it was a good day for planting crops, going to war, or making other important decisions.

9. Incan Religion- Huacas • The Incas also worshipped huacas. • A huaca was a sacred place or thing. Huacas included: • Mummies of the dead • Temples • Holy places • Things of nature such as mountains, springs, and stones. • Each Incan family had small sacred statues in their homes of huacas.

10. Incan HuacaStrange stone carvings near Cusco

11. Incan HuacaMummy mask

12. Incan Social Structures • 1. Noble Classes (Inca)The Inca Empire was ruled by the ancestors of the original Inca people. These were the people who originally established the city of Cuzco. • 2. Public AdministratorsBelow the Inca or noble class was the class of public administrators. These people ran the government at the low level.

13. Incan Social Structures • 3. Commoners • Artisans - Artisans were commoners, but were also considered a higher social class than the farmers. They worked on crafts such as pottery or gold jewelry for the nobles. • Farmers - At the bottom of the social class were the farmers. The farmers were also the largest and the most important class within the Inca Empire. Farmers worked long hard days and sent two-thirds of their crops to the government and the priests. The Inca Empire relied on the production of the farmers for its wealth and success.

14. Incan Social Structures The AylluThe basic unit of Inca society was the ayllu. The ayllu was made up of a number of families that worked together almost like one large family. Everyone in the empire was part of an ayllu. 

15. Incan Technology • Because they counted everything a conquered tribe owned, they needed a way to remember everything they had counted. • They invented the quipus. • The quipus had colored strings tied to a main string. • The color of the strings and the distance between the knots tied in each string told a story - how many of this, and what was going on. • You had to have special training to be a quipus reader.

16. Quipus

17. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Food • Nobody went hungry in the Inca empire. • The commoners ate little meat, but all people ate well.  • The Inca were the first to grow potatoes. • There were many crops. • The big three were: • corn • potatoes • quinoa, which is a seed used to make flour and soups. 

18. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Freeze Dried Food • The Inca grew more food than they needed.  • Stored food was dried and kept in special buildings. • Because they lived high in the Andes Mountains, where it was often cold, it was easy to dry food. • First, they left it out to freeze. • Then they stamped on it until most of the water was out. • They left it out in the sun to finish drying. • And presto! - dried food. 

19. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Terrace Farming • The Inca invented terrace farming. • They lived in the mountains. Flatlands were rare. • So, they simply created flat land by building steps of land for agriculture down the mountainside. • This was great for irrigation. • Instead of rainwater running down the mountainside, the Inca channeled it through each step. • They also built aqueducts to carry water where it was needed. 

20. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Terrace Farming

21. Inca The Llama Tamers

22. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas • Llamas were the important animal high in the Andes Mountains. • It was the only large native animal of the Western Hemisphere to be tamed. • The horse and cow came to the Americas later. • The Incas were the only people of South or Central America to use animals to help in their work.

24. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas • The llama is a member of the camel family. • It does not have a hump like its cousin the camel, but its body stores water well. • The llama can travel great distances without needing water. • This animals is well suited to the rugged mountains of the Andes.

26. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas • Llamas were not worshipped, but they well cared for.  • Llamas provided the Inca with: • wool • food • a way to transport goods • The Inca believed that once upon a time, llamas could talk.

27. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas used for Wool

28. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas used for Wool Llama Parka

29. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas used for Food Charqui is the Incan name for dried llama meat. Our word jerky comes from the Incan word charqui.

30. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas used for Wool The Peruvian culture still dress in brightly colored llama wool clothing

31. Incan Agricultural Practices and Products- Llamas used for Transporting Goods

32. Incan Technology • They invented: • a flute • a drum • the famous Inca panpipe (a collection of hollow tubes of various lengths stuck together) • terrace farming • freeze dried foods • aqueducts