• Ancient city of the Incas.• Located in the Andes, in northwest Peru.• One example among hundreds of Inca

ruins.• Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911.

• Enormous size—2,500 miles in length.• Variable landscape—coastal deserts,

lofty Andes mountain ranges, and rain forests.

• Climate varied from tropical to polar.• More than 6 million people had to be

fed each day.

• Terraced mountain sides (andences) and used guano fertilizer.

• Channeled water and diverted rivers to irrigate arid areas.

• Filled and drained marshes to produce suitable farmland.

• People produced corn, many varieties of potatoes, quinoa, and other produce.

• Had a vision that convinced him to use warfare to spread Inca culture.

• By promising peace and gifts, backed by threats, he won many battles.

• Forced conquered peoples to obey Inca leaders and learn Quechua; allowed them to keep native languages, leaders, gods.

• Pachucuti’s son.• Ruled enormous empire.• Used innovative techniques

to collect taxes such as runners.

• Ruled empire at high point. • Fathered two sons

(Atahualpa and Huascar); they didn’t trust each other.

• Priests favored Huascar and army favored Atahualpa as next leader, which led to 6-year civil war.

• Atahualpa eventually won, but the wars weakened the Inca empire.

Sapa Inca• Descendant of Sun God• Ruled by divine right• Subjects not allowed to look at him in the eyes• Did not walk as a mortal, but was carried in a golden litter• Married to Coya (empress)Nobles• Capac Incas were Inca nobles by blood• Controlled land and valuable resources• Leaders of bureaucracy, army, and priesthoodGovernment Officials• Many levels of officials administered populace, which was broken down into

decimal units• At the bottom were leaders from conquered regions; they continued to rule groups

of households.

Used quipu to keep records• Consisted of knotted strings of cotton or wool• System used to keep records of numbers of llamas, quantities of corn, or the

number of days commoners worked for the governmentThe empire was divided into households.• Every 10 households governed by the head of one household who reported to

heads of other households• This way, Inca controlled economies of diverse communities and were able to

collect taxes easilyInca laws regulated daily life• The state designated jobs for everyone• Had to help with large-scale Inca projects: army, roads• In addition to working their own land, commoners worked the Inca’s fields and

contributed food and cloth to state warehouses.