The Rise and Fall of the Incas

Michelle MCynthia GManar AbdelgaderMarco MAlexis Cjada Winston

Response

What were three areas Incas lived in and traditions that helped the empire grow.

The Inca Build an Empire

The Aztecs built an empire that is a thousands of years old the Ancient civilization were Chavin, Moche ,and Nazca and established a tradition of high culture in Peru.

In the 1300s civilization of Chimu was based on region that controlled Moche and the Inca created a powerful state and rule the entire Andean region.

Inca beginnings

They started living in high plateau of the and they settle in fertile and they wonder in high lands for years .

In the 1200s, there was a small kingdom in the valley, in this period they developed traditions and beliefs that helped them with their empire get better.

The main tradition and belief that helped the Inca ruler was the sun god , Inti made better place in the Inca state There was 11 nobles that believed the sun of god would be selected as Incan leaders

Response

What were three ways the government created unity and what ways did they show their presence.

Incan government Creates Unity- The ruler divided their territory and its people into manageable units to, governed by a central bureaucracy, to control the huge

empire.

- The Inca created an extensive road system to support the empire and tie it together.

- They imposed a single official language Quechua, and founded schools to teach Incan ways.

- Certain social groups were identified by officially dictated patterns on clothing.

Incan Cities Show Government Presence.

- The Inca built many cities in conquered areas to exercise control over their empire.

- The architecture of government building was the same all over the empire, making the presence of the government apparent.

- As in Rome, all roads led to the capital, Cuzco.

- Cuzco was a splendid city of temples, plazas, and places.

- The Inca were masterful engineers and stonemasons.

- Though they had no iron tools and did not use the wheel, Incan builders carved and transported huge block of stone, fitting them together perfectly without mortar.

- Many Incan walls still stand in Cuzco today, undisturbed by the region’s frequent earthquakes.

Inca government

- The Inca state exercised almost total control over economic and social life.

- It controlled most economic activity, regulating the production and distribution goods.

- The Inca allowed little private commerce or trade.

- The Inca social system was based on an age-old form of community cooperation (The ayllu)

- The ayllu, or extended family group, undertook tasks too big for a single family.

- The ayllu also stored food and other supplies to distribute among members during hard times.

- The Inca incorporated the ayllu structure into a governing system based on the decimal system.

They divided families into groups of 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000.

- A chief led each group. He was part of a chain of command.

- That chain stretched from the community and regional levels all the way to Cuzco, where the Incan ruler and his council of state held court.

Response

What was Mita and what was their government system similar to. What were Chasquis and how were they involved with empire. Explain the writing system.

Public Works Project and Government Record-Keeping

Mita was a tribute that had all able-bodied citizens work a period of time every year for the state. (ex. farmlands, public works projects, produce craft goods)

This Inca system has been compared to a to a type of socialism or modern welfare system. (ex. the aged and disabled were often helped by the state or the fact the state made sure the people did not go hungry during bad harvest)

Of their projects the Inca road system was a spectacle and a symbol of power of the Inca state. the Incas also built guesthouses to provide shelter for weary travelers. Chasquis were a system of runners carrying messages throughout the empire. Also troops moved through the roads easily to control trouble brewing areas.

Besides their sophistication of many Incan aspects they did not develop a system of writing. History and literature was memorized as part of an oral tradition. They did create a quipu which was accounting device but the Incas did create a elaborate calendar system that included two calendars, one for day and one for night which was mainly used for religious purposes.

Response

What type religion did they follow and what were some important factors and how were people affected.

*Religion was of great importance

*They were polytheistic people but worshiped fewer gods then the Aztecs

*They focused more on the key nature spirits like moon, stars and thunder

*The chief of the Incas was a creator god called viracocha

*The next in importance was the god of the sun, Inti

* Unmarried women were teachers that practiced activities which had to do with religion. They were called mamkuna.

* Young men were known as yamacuna and they were also put to serve as full time workers for the state.

* Sacrificed llamas and trading goods were part of the religious activities.

*The most sacred place was the temple of the sun and it was built out of gold and metal

Religion Supports the State

Response

When did their troubles begin and what caused them.

Discord in the Empire

In the 1500s there was a reign of Huayna Capac they reached the height of glory.

They had trouble in the 1520s Huayna Capac undertook a tour of Ecuador

And they built area of empire. The city of Quito received a gift box he opened it and butterflies

and moths considered a evil omen flew out.