What Is The Inca Civilization?

1. Before Francisco Pizarro began the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Incan empire dominated the Andes Mountain region. An emperor who demanded strict obedience ruled the land. All business was run by the state, which could draft citizens for its projects. The Inca, terracing the landscape and irrigating the crops, farmed the mountainsides. The Inca were brilliant engineers, whose roadways included bridges. The city of Machu Picchu is an example of their skill with tools like the plumb bob and wooden roller, which they used for in heavy construction. Hundreds of years after their civilization was subdued by the Spanish, the descendants of the once-dominate Incas make up about 50 percent of Peru’s population.

The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire had villages and cities throughout the Andes Mountains. Some of these settlements were as low as sea level and their capital, Cusco, was at an altitude of 11,200 feet. The Andes are considered some of the longest and highest mountain ranges. In fact it’s tallest peak, Mount Aconcaqua, in Argentina, tops out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). Despite the fact that people were traversing mountains the people flourished creating trails, aqueducts and agricultural practices that still exist today.

Throughout the semester we learned about various civilizations but that one that caught my attention were the Incas. The reason why it did was because of the sense of community they had in their civilization. After reading this article called “Daily Life in the Inca Empire” by Mark Cartwright. I learn from the article that family was a very important component of the Inca society. The reason why it was important because everybody would have each other back and they would try to keep their families close together with work and marriage. I found it pretty cool how the Incas in way were compared to the Egyptians cause they used the mummification method for their dead. Also they were compared to the Europeans for their sumptuary laws, which forbade

The Inca’s were excellent builders whose stone buildings and roads helped them become great builders in their town. They were great farmers and headers, could make items and they were great scholars in many areas such as doctors, surgeons, and teachers. After the Europeans’ came and took over this brought a end to the thousands of years of the Inca way of

First, the Incas were both master builders and stonemasons, and they created and constructed many useful and beautiful buildings, roadways, and walls. The Incas built the site of Machu Picchu in Peru, and its, "City buildings and terraces ... are of the best quality", and, they are still standing today (3). This shows that the Incas were a very sophisticated society who solved their agricultural problems and provided shelter for their people. Also, this indicates that the Incas were very conscious about the quality of their buildings. In addition, the Incas were also superior wall builders because, “ Using bronze chisels and stone hammers they fitted

In 1500 C.E., the Inca Empire was the biggest, wealthiest civilization in Mesoamerica. They ruled over a diverse area of mountains and rainforest, some 2,500 miles in length. It is also one of the more well known civilizations. But did you know that there was a civilization considered a predecessor to the Inca? That civilization is Tiwanaku. The tiwanaku Empire started around 300 BCE and ended in 1000 CE. They were located near the west border of Bolivia. The artifacts that they had were pillars and stone structures where they think they had ceremonies. They also had small temples and altars.

Felipe Guaman, Poma De Ayala. The First New Chronicle and Good Government: On the History of the World and the Incas Up to 1615. Trans. Roland Hamilton. Ed. Roland Hamilton. Austin, TX: U of Texas, 2009. Questia School. Web.https://www.questiaschool.com/read/120797805/the-first-new-chronicle-and-good-government-on-the

The Incan Empire was the largest empire in the 16th century in South America. The capital was Cusco and the civilization had expand from the west coast of South America, modern day Ecuador, Boilivia, Argentia, and expanded to Peru. The government style was similar to that of socialism. The empire was divided into four provincial governments: Chinchasyu, Antisuyu, Kuntisuyu, and Qullasuyu. Inca Pachacuti had founded the empire and unite all of the kingdoms together. The thrown was then inherited by his decendent, but once the Spanish had reached South America the empire fell. Francisco Pizarro led the spanish into the empire and manipulated the two ruling emperors which then hed him to his victory. After capturing one of the emperors, Pizarro

The Aztecs lived on North America in Mexico. They lived on islands and their capital was called Techoctilian which meant “Place of the Prickly Pear”. Their capital stood where Mexico City currently is. Their empire stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and from modern day Guatemala to the Basin. As of today the spot where they built their capital is no longer an island. The land was very swampy so it was bad for farming and it wasn’t fertile. It was also surrounded by mountains and they didn’t get materials like stone and wood to build their houses and such.

Wars were fought over territory, slaves, to avenge insults, and to establish succession. Weaponry: axes, clubs, maces, throwing spears, shields, and helmets, bladed spears

The Inca were South American Indian people who ruled one of the largest and richest empires in the America's. The Inca Empire began to expand about 1438 and occupied a vast region that centered on the capital, Cusco, in southern Peru. The Empire extended more than 2,500 miles (4,020 kilometers) along the western coast of South America. It included parts of Present - Day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Inca Empire was conquered by Spanish Forces soon after their arrival in 1532.

There were several ancient civilizations that built their cultures around their geography. The Incas were among one of those ancient civilizations. They had amazing ingenuity to make use of their environment. The Incas built agriculture terraces and they had a complex irrigation system. And some crops that we use today. The physical environment of the Incas affected and shaped their civilization.

The Inca Empire was a complex society with an estimated population of 10 million people. They had vast cities, exquisite temples, an advanced government and a detailed tax system. Even though they were not as advanced in technology as other empires they still had their own technologies. Some of their technologies were invented by others, but they helped perfect them. They were one of the greatest empires of their time, but how technologically advanced were the Incas?

Inca art is best seen in highly polished metalwork and ceramics. When the war happened between the Inca's and the European, they had destroyed the art of the Inca's. So, it was hard to resemble it. They were inspired by the Chimu civilization. From research I learned that the Inca's weren't poor and they used high quality such as stone to build all the buildings. Their only choice of stone was Yucay limestone, green Sacsayhuaman diorite porphyry, and black andesite. So there wasn't much variety.

The Incan people were extremely skilled at constructing structures. In Machu Picchu, there were about two hundred buildings which included residences, temples, storage, and other public buildings. They had rectangular floors, steep thatched roofs, and trapezoidal doors. Some of them called masmas had three walls. The buildings either had one or two stories. They did not use any mortar to hold the bricks. Instead, they used cut stones, geometry and joints. Structures were so well built that they withstood earthquakes and many centuries. No other civilization in the ancient world could cut and assemble stone blocks so perfectly.