Major Pre-Columbian Major Pre-Columbian CivilizationsCivilizations

Aztecs

Mayas

Incas

1200 CE – 1550 CE

Where did the Inca live?

The Inca controlled an empire in the Andes Mountain region of South America.

Location: Andes Mountains

and Pacific coast of South America

Cuzco was the capital (Present day Peru)

Religion

PolytheisticPrimary god was Inti, the sun god.

Religion

Belief in ReincarnationPracticed cranial deformation

-Wrapping tight cloth straps around the heads of newborns to alter the shape of their soft skulls into a cone-like shape

Religion: Paracas Skulls

Religion:

Gods linked to the forces of nature

Religion tied to routines of life

Sapa Inca (Emperor) performed religious rituals

Government: Royal FamilyThe Sapa Inca (Emperor)

– Had absolute power– Was the Son of the Sun– The religious leader

1438 began a far-reaching expansion under Sapa Inca Pachacuti-Cusi Yupanqui ("earth-shaker“)

His son: Tupac Yupanqui– Brought much of the Andes mountains under Inca control– roughly modern Peru and Ecuador

• Tupac Amaru = Peruvian Revolutionary• Tupac Amaru Shakur = American Rap God

Government: Management

The Empire – Divided into four regions

• Tawantinsuyu, or the four parts together• Central government with the Inca at its head

– The capital at Cuzco

• Four provincial governments – Chinchasuyu (NW)– Antisuyu (NE)– Contisuyu (SW)– Collasuyu (SE)

Government: Empire BuildingMethods Used:

–Conquest –Peaceful assimilation–Intermarriage–Economic reliance–Economic isolation

Government: Empire BuildingIncorporated:

– Western South America– the Andean mountain ranges– large parts of modern Ecuador– modern Peru– western and south central Bolivia– northwest Argentina– north and north-central Chile – southern Colombia

Uniting the Empire Organization: PhysicalMassive road network builtThrough mountains Across rivers and gorges

This made it much easier for

the Spanish to get around

Organization: SocialGovernment Officials in each area:.

assigned each family a specific job

arranged marriages

organized mandatory public service building projects

Achievements: Built road systems through Andes that

stretched over 12,000 miles (made of stone)

Roads united the Empire Engineering allowed them to build

massive stone buildings, no cement Complex record keeping system

– The Quipu

Stonework

The Inca constructed stone temples without using mortars yet the stones fit together so well that a knife would not fit between the stones.

Terrace farming on the side of the Andes Mountains

used llamasgrew 700 varieties of

potatoes

Agriculture

The The QuipuQuipu: : An Incan An Incan DatabaseDatabase

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu

Machu PicchuMachu Picchu

Incan Terrace Incan Terrace FarmingFarming

Incan Suspension Bridges

Incan Suspension Bridges

Inca Gold & SilverInca Gold & Silver

Incan Ceramic JarsIncan Ceramic Jars

PeanutPeanutPeanutPeanut PotatoPotatoPotatoPotato SquashSquashSquashSquash

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao Cacao GodGod

Cacao PodCacao PodCacao PodCacao Pod

Medical Advances

The Inca performed successful skull surgery.

The Inca also used medicines to make patients unconscious during surgery

Incan MummiesIncan Mummies

Fall of the Inca

BUT ultimately, it was Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro that brought about the fall of the Inca Empire.

Possible Reasons for decline:

Superior military technology of the Spanish (Francisco Pizarro)

Divisions and discontent among Indians the Incas ruled over

Disease brought by Europeans weakened the Inca

What happened to the Inca?

Civil war in the empire broke out

ANDSmallpox spread, killing 65% of the Inca

ANDThe Spanish arrived with military devestation

Where are the Inca now?

Currently descendants live in the Andes

Speak Quechua

ANDThe Spanish arrived with military devestation

Inca Video Clip

http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=2301