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A Close Reading
Investigation with
Annotation Guide &
Common Core Analysis
Common
Core!
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania Pavlovich
The Founding of a vast empire
T he Inca Empire emanated sometime
around 1200 A.D. Until then, small
villages lived simple lives helping each
other with farming for survival. Legend
says that four brothers arose from Lake Titicaca
of the Andes mountains and journeyed together.
By the end of that trip only Manco Capac
survived. He placed a golden staff into the ground
as a tribute to his brothers where the Tullamayo
and Huantanay rivers collide, and its location
became the sacred city of Cuzco. When the Inca
Empire hit it’s peak somewhere between 1493 -
1527, it spread 300,000 square miles and
included parts of modern-day Ecuador, Bolivia,
Colombia, Peru, and Chile. In order to
communicate and keep control, Inca leaders
constructed and maintained a myriad of roads
that totaled 25,000 miles.
An Atypical way of governing
The Incas dubbed their empire Tawantinsuyu, the
“Land of the Four Corners,” The empire was
divided up into four suyu (or regions) with the
capital Cuzco at the center. Each suyu was then
broken down into provinces run by local chiefs.
All the Inca people were required to divide their
land between the Gods, the empire, and
themselves. Instead of paying taxes, the people
paid the government in labor (See Mita). Unlike
the Maya, there was no writing system, but the
government established an official language for
business called Quechua, which is still spoken in
many parts of Peru today. Government officials
kept track of the empire’s wealth and debts with
quipu, knotted strings. Varying lengths and
colors, as well as knot type could display endless
information.
Unlike many other empires in the world’s history,
the Inca chose peaceful diplomacy over brute-
force conquest. Gift exchanges, marital
partnerships, or political alliances with people
who lived where they wanted to expand their
empire often got the results Inca leaders craved.
Even though the empire trained a vast army,
violence was a last resort. Leaders also started
their rule from the ground up, as the previous
ones recycled their wealth to all male relatives
rather than sons. (See A Dual Religion below.) In
order to gain loyalty and maintain unity, while
meeting the needs of a growing empire, leaders
scheduled feasts, thrown in giant plazas. The
celebrations would last for days, sometimes
weeks. Food was indulged in, including maize,
meat, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and chili peppers.
At the end of the feast, the host ruler made his
requests for increased crop production, building
or irrigation plans, or land line expansion.
Architectural & Infrastructural Feats
Two major cities, Cuzco and Machu Picchu, were
constructed during the high points of the Inca
Historical Snapshot An Inca Close Reading Investigation
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania Pavlovich
Empire. With the founding of his land, the first Inca
Emperor Pachacuti laid flat and reconstructed
Cuzco into a sprawling city that towered 10,000
feet above sea level. The new development
shaped the government and leadership buildings
as the body of a puma, with the wondrous
Coricancha, the temple for the Sun God Inti, as
the head. Cuzco was considered sacred so
commoners lived in villages beyond its boundaries.
Machu Picchu is a fortress probably built as a
palace or royal retreat for Emperor Pachacuti just
50 miles northwest of the capitol. It’s construction
was entirely of massive stone boulders, with joints
being so precisely cut that a knife couldn’t fit
between pieces and no mortar was needed. This
amazing achievement is a testament to how skilled
Inca builders were. As mentioned above, the Inca
Empire owed a great deal of its ability to unify so
many people to an intricate network of roads. The
types varied from dirt to narrowly carved ledge
paths to swaying rope bridges slung across sheer
cliffs. Way stations for weary travelers were set up
every mile and a half, and the empire employed
an official band of runners who could easily cover
up to 150 miles each day. In this way,
communication between empire and village
leaders was maintained. In addition to a network
of roads, the Inca also adapted to their
mountainous terrain by creating terraces, where
the mountains were carved to create flat land for
farming.
Provision trumps Trade
Unlike the northern empires in Mexico, the Inca
had no marketplaces or shops where citizens could
purchase or trade. Thus, no currency was needed.
Instead, citizens worked for the government in a
mita system, where people worked for the
common welfare of the empire. Farmers and road
builders alike worked for the government, which
collected food and redistributed it for all. The state
warehouses issued food and other needs of their
citizens from the taxes received throughout the
year. In addition to providing the commoners with
required goods, the government also held regular
feasts to reflect the give-and-receive system of pre
-empire village life.
A Dual religion
The Inca leadership enforced two-fold religious
system. Though the Inca were polytheistic, meaning
they worshipped many gods, Emperor Pachacuti
made the Sun God Inti the supreme patron for the
land. Gods were worshipped in many ways,
including prayer, song, and sacrifice. The first two
were done at temples, the greatest of which was
Coricancha, meaning “House of Gold”. It’s walls,
ceilings, and alters were lined and inlayed with the
precious metal. Animal sacrifices were common,
but human sacrifices, usually children or teenagers,
were considered the ultimate gift to the Gods. The
chosen person was often given a special diet of
maize and meat to fatten them up, and then
drugged with cocoa leaves and alcohol before being
left at sacred locations to die from exposure to the
elements. Emperor Pachacuti also inflated the
relevance of the second part of Incan religion:
ancestral worship. Pachacuti stated that dead rulers
only passed their powers to their sons, but their
earthly possessions were divided among his
panaqa, or other male relatives. In this way wealth
stayed within families and leaders of the past
continued to be idolized.
The Inca's artistic specialty
Although the Inca’s largest achievements centered
around building, they had one other specialty.
Cloth was one of the highest valued items in the
land. Cotton and alpaca wool were the most
prominent threads used in the Inca’s intricate
fabrics, but other more exotic things such as bat
hair and bird downs were also woven into them.
The best quality of cloth, called cumpi, clothed the
nobility of the land.
The Inca’s Downfall
In the midst of an Inca Civil War, the Spaniards, led
by Francisco Pizarro, conquered the Incas in 1538.
The leader, Atahualpa was jailed and forced to
convert to Christianity, which he refused. He was
later murdered after paying a gold and silver
ransom. Like most native American populations,
the Inca were devastated by small pox. Still, even
today the people of Peru are proud of their native
culture and have navigated a fairly peaceful
marriage of both Inca and Spanish traditions.
Complete the following questions by using the reading, Historical Snapshot: A Maya Close Reading Investigation.
1. List the section subheading where you can find the following key concepts for social science:
Geography:_________________________________ Social Classes:__________________________________
Leadership:_________________________________ Religion:______________________________________
Economy:__________________________________ Achievements:_________________________________
2. Economy: Write an excerpt from the reading that best supports how the Inca worked for the common good of the people.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Achievements: Describe four building achievements of the Inca people.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Economy: Why were there no marketplaces in the Inca World?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Geography: Which five modern countries were a part of the Inca Empire at it’ peak of rule?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Religion: Describe the typical age of a human sacrifice and how they were prepared to be given to the gods.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Social Classes/Geography: Describe the location and role of each of the three social classes.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Economy: How were Inca’s marketplaces different from the markets of Empire’s in central America?
________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Achievements: Why do you think way stations were necessary on the Inca’s road system?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Vocabulary: What is the definition of emanated in the following sentence?
“The Inca Empire emanated sometime around 1200 A.D. “
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 &
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania
Historical Snapshot An Inca Close Reading Investigation Analysis
Complete the following questions by using the reading, Historical Snapshot: A Maya Close Reading Investigation.
1. List the section subheading where you can find the following key concepts for social science:
Geography: The Founding of a Vast Empire Social Classes: An Atypical Way of Governing/ A Dual Religion
Religion: A Dual Religion Achievements: Architectural & Infrastructural Feats/ Inca’s Artistic Specialty
Economy: Provision Trumps Trade Leadership: An Atypical Way of Governing/ A Dual Religion
2. Economy: Write an excerpt from the reading that best supports how the Inca worked for the common good of the people.
“Instead, citizens worked for the government in a mita system, where people worked for the common welfare of the
empire. “
3. Achievements: Describe four building achievements of the Inca people.
Redesigning the city of Cuzco in the shape of a puma
Building Coricancha, the golden temple of the sun god
Constructing Machu Picchu out of enormous boulders
Developing 25,000 miles worth of roads with way stations every mile and a half for travelers to rest.
4. Economy: Why were there no marketplaces in the Inca World?
Farmers and road builders alike worked for the government, which collected food and redistributed it for all.
5. Geography: Which five modern countries were a part of the Inca Empire at it’ peak of rule?
Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Chile.
6. Religion: Describe the typical age of a human sacrifice and how they were prepared to be given to the gods.
Typical human sacrifices were children or teens that were fattened up with maize and meat before being drugged with cocoa and alcohol.
7. Social Classes/Geography: Describe the location and role of each of the three social classes.
Inca leaders lived in the capitol and oversaw regional expansion, religious ceremonies, and governmental social obligations. Regional chiefs were the middle class. They governed villages throughout the empire and collected taxes. Commoners lived in their respective villages growing crops and creating cloth and other arts.
8. Economy: How were Inca’s marketplaces different from the markets of Empire’s in central America?
Unlike the Empires of Central America, the Inca didn’t have marketplaces. The people received all they needed from the government’s storerooms.
9. Achievements: Why do you think way stations were necessary on the Inca’s road system?
The roads and paths were treacherous so travelers probably needed the rest.
10. Vocabulary: What is the definition of emanated in the following sentence?
“The Inca Empire emanated sometime around 1200 A.D. “
Emanated means started or began in the sentence.
Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania
Historical Snapshot An Inca Close Reading Investigation
Copyright © 2015 Instructomania Pavlovich
Common Core 6-8.4
Annotations are used to help the reader interact with the text in order make the text meaningful. Annotations
that are done correctly should enable the reader to look back and remember important information from the
text without having to re-read the entire text. Here are a few annotations that you will be using this year.
Name Annotation Explanation
1. Mystery Words
I:
or
D:
Put a box around any words that you
are uncertain of the definition
I: Write what you can infer (guess)
about the meaning from cues in the
surrounding text.
D: If you can’t infer anything, look up
the definition and write it down.
2. Key Terms circle Place a circle around key people,
dates, vocabulary and ideas.
3. Strike Gold! (or underline ) highlight Highlight small chunks of “golden text”
that you think has the most important
information.
Caution: Make sure not to abuse this idea.
Try to discern which text represents the
most important information only. Usually
only a few parts of sentences will be
highlighted per paragraph.
4. Star Key Points Put a star and write notes in the margin a
of text that represent the most important
thought or idea in the whole reading. Star
points are given to content that is related
to class discussions, classwork or any
course learning.
5. Short summary for each reading
subheading.
Hashtag (#) OR
Billboard Advertisement OR
Web Address
Hashtag: Just like in the digital world
hashtags are used to summarize the main
idea. The hashtag is followed by text that
summarizes key points of each paragraph.
Ex: #shortenedkeysummary
Billboard: A quick ad or ad re-phrase that
summarizes the main point. Ex: Got Milk?
Web Address: Create a .com web address
summary of the main idea.
For example: summarizethisarticle.com
Word
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