Inca Empire

The Inca Empire reigned from 1200 until 1533, spread out through the entire western coast of South America. The emire stretched as far north as southern Colombia and Ecuador, included all of Peru and Bolivia as well as northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. Its capital was the modern day city of Cuzco, which is presently the country of Peru. This grand empire encompassed many nations and over seven hundred languages. Like many other cultures, the Inca's history was based on a creation story. The Inca beginning starts with the creator god Tici Viracocha who came out of Lake Titicaca. The people inhabiting its surroundings had insulted the great god in some way so he destroyed them, and cast them into stone. After this, Viracocha created the sun and the moon and new human life forms to be distributed to different sites along the western coast of South America. Some of these new life forms headed for Cuzco, later the greatest city of the Incas. Manco Capac then came forth from Lake Titicaca and headed to Cuzco through underground caves. He finally arrived with his brothers and all of their wives and sisters to the cave of Pacariqtamba in the Valley of Cuzco. After defeating his three brothers, who turned to stone after death, and taking their wives, Manco Capac became the first ruler of the Incan Empire. All of the later Inca rulers descended from him.

The Incas originated in the mountains of Peru, expanding to control the entire Andes region of South America. The Incan civilization reached its peak in the 15th century, under the rule of Pachacuti. The Incan empire was a feudalistic society in which all levels of society paid tribute to their leader, known as the Inca. The Inca was a god- like figure that was carried around with style and wore a special headdress that communicated his superior power. He claimed power by virtue of having been descended from the gods. Below the Inca there were four main classes of citizens. First was the Royal family, nobles, military and religious leaders. These people controlled the Incan Empire, and many of them lived in Cuzco. Next were the governors of the four provinces of the Incan Empire. These people had great powers; they could organize troops, collect tribute and establish law and order. Below the governors were the local officials. These officials were responsible for less important judgments, such as settling disputes and giving out punishments. Lowest on the social ladder were the peasants, which included the majority of the population.

The emperor Pachacuti was the most powerful man in the ancient Americas, sending many expeditions to conquer new lands. If his opponents surrendered they were well treated. If not, they received little mercy. As Pachacuti won more lands, his armies became larger and more successful. Pachacuti was a skilled diplomat. He would send messages to the leaders of the lands to be conquered telling them the benefits of joining the Incas. If they gave up their land, they would be in control of their local area but they would be within the Incan Empire. Their sons would be given a full education and they would be treated as nobles.

The Incas had a well trained and well organized army. When the Incas conquered a place, people gave tribute in the form of work to help develop the empire. The Incas encouraged people to join the empire, and treated them well for doing so. Postal services were set up with runners who delivered messages, as tied knots and packages between major cities. News could be broadcast at speeds of up to 125 miles a day through the chasqui system. The Incas exchanged populations in conquered areas. This was part of the creation of the "Inca highway," which was used for wars, transportation of goods, and other purposes. The Incas belief in manay, a mix of Inca religion and Christianity, provided for exchanging populations and ideas in the empire. The whole Incan Empire was linked by many good roads and bridges.

The Incas were told what job they had to do, how much land they could farm and where they could and could not travel. In return for keeping these rules, the Incas were well looked after. If an Inca was caught stealing but it was not proven, the local official would be punished for "not doing his job properly." The Incan Empire helped those unable to work. Wives were given an allowance of wool. The Incan people had to work on their empire's and their god's land before doing anything of their own. The Incas had no freedom to travel, and sons always had to follow their fathers' trade. The Incan Empire was divided into four parts. All parts of Incan life were supervised by Incan officials. The Inca Empire developed no form of traditional writing, relying instead on the transmission of information passed on by mouth and khipu, knotted strings that have yet to be deciphered.

Incan childhood was harsh by modern standards. When a baby was born, the Incas would wash the child in cold water and wrap it in a blanket. Soon after, the baby was put in a pit dug in the ground like a playpen. By about age one, the Incas expected the baby to crawl and walk independently. At age two, the child was ceremonially named and were considered to have left infancy. From then on, boys and girls were expected to help around the house. Misbehaving during this time could result in very severe punishment. At age 14, boys received a loincloth in a ceremony to mark their manhood. Boys from noble families were subjected to many different tests of endurance and knowledge. After the test, they received earplugs and a weapon, whose color represented rank in society.

The Incas built many temples to their deities. The best-known Incan temples include the Sun Temple in Cuzco, the temple at Vilcashuaman, the temple at Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, and the Temple of the Sun at Titicaca Island. The Incas built the Sun Temple in Cuzco from exquisitely matched and joined stones. It had a circumference of over 1200 feet, and housed a great image of the sun. One part of the temple, the Coricancha, held models of cornstalks, llamas and lumps of earth. Portions of the Incas' land were allotted to the sun and administered for the priests. Huacas, or sacred sites, were widespread around Incan empire. Huacas were deific entities that resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders or streams. Spiritual leaders in a community would use prayer and offerings to communicate with a huaca for advice or assistance.

The Incas relied on divination to inform all important events in society. The Incas used divination to diagnose illnesses, predict battle outcomes, and to drive out demons. Divination would also determine what sacrifices should be made and to which god. The Incas believed that unseen powers controlled life, and they appealed to these powers in their rites of divination. Incan priests