Inca Empire

Teacher: Rebecca Johann

Essential Questions

•What are some similarities/differences between the Inca government and our own government?•What are some roles the Spanish explorers had on the Inca?•How are we influenced in art?•In what ways do our surrounding environments prohibit or give us as advantage?•How does the beliefs, values, and customs, of the Incas guide their way of life?

Growth of the Inca• It is estimated that the Inca Empire began around the 1400’s and ended 1532.•The Empire was approximately 300,000 square miles with a population of up to 12 million people. •But how did the Inca gain the power to control so much territory and people? The Inca worked with the combination of diplomacy, negotiating relationships with neighbors, gift exchanges, marital exchanges, political alliance, or threat with military conquest.•Militarism was built into the culture of the Inca peoples.(D’Altroy)

Leaders of the Inca

• The leadership was an interplay between militarism and genealogy when it came to successions.•Even if you were the eldest son of the previous king, you must compete with other brothers and uncles through politics or in military in order to take the position as leader.•In regards to their culture, this was the best way to choose a leader especially since they were concerned with expanding their control and power. (D’Altroy)

Innovations• The Incas were like local lords were mutual obligation such as hospitality, protection, military, a sacred leadership, societal labor and allegiance where present. These were helpful in maintaining their power.•Incas also created roads with provincial stations. These roads kept the empire connected. (D’Altroy)

Incan Art• Much of the art we find created by the Incas are clothing, pottery, paintings, jewelry, masks, music, and architecture.•Most of their artwork was meant to depict their gods and to honor them. •Clothing was used to show which social class a person belonged to. The more complex and colorful the design, the more important and high up the social class you were•Murals generally had the colors of white, black, mustard yellow, and burnt sienna. The use of geometric shapes such as squares in a checkered design were popular. (Zellner, Jaimie)

Incan Art Continued•During times of celebration of the gods and nature, masks were worn decorated with feathers.•Unfortunately, most artwork created from any metal was melted down by the conquering Spaniards because of the art’s connection to the polytheistic religion.•Another important form of the Incan art is architecture. Due to the amount of earthquakes and the location of the city, they carved out of large stones and marble their city! This would have taken the use of engineers and architectures to develop this city at this location. They also had to create channels for water to flow through their city. (Zellner, Jaimie)

The Inca gods

• An important god to the Inca people is the Inti, which means Sun God. This god ruled over the fertility and crops. The representation of this god was a golden disk with a face.•The god Virococha created the Earth, sky, people, Sun, moon, and stars. At first the people went against this god so he destroyed them all by a flood. However, a male and female were able to survive and were forgiven by the god. This god then created different tribes of people from clay.•Chasca is also know as the long-haired star, or Venus. She is the goddess who cares for princesses, flowers, and girls.•Illapa is the god of thunder and lighting. He is depicted has a man with a war club and sling.Unknown author

Geography

• Located on the western side of South America. • The geographical regions include mountain,

jungle, and desert. The jungle was on one side of the mountain while the desert was on the other.

• The Incan society was dominated by the Andes Mountains. The mountain peaks were thought of as gods and were worshiped. (Martin, Phillip)

Geography ContinuedIn order to adapt to the many gorges of the mountains created, the Incas built bridges. This was important because the Incas were protected from foreign invaders due to the rough terrain. Incas appeared to have no intention to create settlements within the Amazon jungle but rather expanded their territory from the north to the south. (Martin, Phillip)

Inca and Spaniards• The Spanish conquistadors

and mercenaries arrived at the Inca Empire in 1532.

• The Spanish kidnapped and held the Inca emperor, Atahualpa, for ransom.

• The Inca people paid a $50 million ransom in gold but the Spaniards had killed the emperor anyways.

The Inca and Spaniards•The conquistador Francisco Pizarro is the Spanish military commander who occupied the Inca Empire. • This conquistador brought with him canons, pistols, armor, and cavalry which lead to his ability to conquer the powerful Incas.•He was known for his cruelty and greed of gold. Conquistadors like Pizarro driven by the lust of gold are why civilizations like the Inca were destroyed and killed. • Even though the Inca Empire was broken up, there were still a few people fighting the Europeans in remote areas such as forests, valleys, and mountains. (Rediscover Machu Picchu)

Inca CultureThe language spoken was called Quechua. It is similar to Aymara which is spoken near the Lake of Titicaca.

Due to the conquests of the Inca, this language became dominantMost of the Inca Empire was made up of farmer soldiers. There were more than 20 varieties of corn, 240 varieties of potato, camote, squash, beans, manioc, peppers, peanuts, and quinoa.

The most important crop was the potato. Work was communal and the most important tool used was a digging stick called the taclla.

Incan Culture

• The llama can resist the Andean cold and the desert heat.

• It was used for carrying up to a hundred pounds.

• The dung was used for fertilizer and its wool was used for ropes and cargo sacks.

Taxes• Only state and religious

officials were exempt from paying taxes.

• There was system where you paid your taxes through work service to the state. It is called Mit’a.

• The crops were harvested communally, road building, mining, and the erection of temples, forts, and royal residences are all examples of how to work off your taxes.

References• About Peru History. www.about-peru-history.com • Carlos, Santa Maria. Peru Inca Art.

http://www.photoxpress.com/photos-peru-inca-art-4160004 • File: Inca-Spanish Confrontation. December 26, 2012. commons.wikimedia.org• Gods and Goddesses of the Incas.

http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/godinca.html • Incas. http://www.profesorenlinea.cl/universalhistoria/Incas.htm • Incan Agriculture. November 19, 2010.

http://www.incas.info/view/incan-agriculture/incan-agriculture.html • Inca Civilization.

http://www.imagesofanthropology.com/Inca_civilization_of_Peru_South_America.html

• Martin, Phillip. Inca Empire for Kids: Geography.http://incas.mrdonn.org/geography.html

Reference• McConnell, James. Conquistadors and Incas.

www.illustrationartgallery.com• Rediscover Machu Picchu: Complete in-depth

Guide to Machu Picchu, Peru, and the Incas. http://www.rediscovermachupicchu.com/spanish-conquest-conlonization.htm

• W., Victor. Incas. 1996 http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/incas/collier.htm

• Zellner, Kay. April 6, 2010 Inca Art. http://ksuanth.wetpaint.com/page/Inca+Art