HISTORY OF THE INCAS Cuzco and the Incas: 15th century In the early 15th century the town of Cuzco is a small place, the headquarters of one of many competing tribes within the region which was once ruled from Tiwanaku. But in about 1438 a younger son of the ruler defeats the neighbouring Chanca people, usurps power, gives himself the resounding title Pachacuti ('transformer of the earth') and begins an astonishing process of military expansion. The policy is continued by his son, Topa Inca (also sometimes called Tupac Inca). By the end of two long reigns (about fifty-five years in all) the Cuzco dynasty, known as the Incas, are in loose control of an empire stretching from Quito in modern Ecuador to the Maule river in Chile - a distance of nearly 2500 miles. Even allowing for the exaggerations of oral history transmitted within a ruling dynasty, this is a remarkable achievement. The Inca expansion also shares some features with Genghis Khan's programme of conquest. Inca roads: 15th century
History for Kids: Aztecs, Maya, and Inca Back to History The three most dominant and advanced civilizations that developed in the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans were the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca. Map of Aztec, Mayan, and Incan Civilizations by Ducksters Aztecs The Aztec Empire was located in central Mexico. The capital city of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan. The Aztec called their ruler the Tlatoani. Maya The Maya civilization began as early as 2000 BC and continued to have a strong presence in Mesoamerica for over 3000 years until the Spanish arrived in 1519 AD. The Maya were located in Central America in a region that is today made up of southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, and northern El Salvador. The Maya were the only American civilization to develop an advanced written language. Inca The Inca Empire was centered in Peru and ruled over much of the west coast of South America from the 1400s to the time of the Spanish arrival in 1532. ActivitiesCrossword PuzzleWord Search
Incas - HowStuffWorks Incas, an Indian people of South America. Long before the voyages of Columbus, their empire, centered in Peru, was remarkable for its organization and culture. The word Inca, properly the title of the emperors, was eventually applied to the people as a whole. Their descendants, the Quechua Indians, now make up most of the rural population of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and parts of Argentina. The Inca Empire stretched 3,000 miles along the coast of South America. At its height the Inca empire stretched for some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from present-day Colombia along the Pacific coast through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into Chile. How the Incas Lived The Incas worshiped the sun god, Inti.His chief temple, the Temple of the Sun, was radiant with the immense amount of gold, silver, and jewels used to decorate it. The Inca emperor, believed to be descended directly from the sun god, had absolute power. Inca emperors were treated as earthly gods. The Incas spoke the Quechua language. History
Prehistoric Inca neurosurgery – Neurophilosophy The procedure known as trepanation, in which a hole is scraped or drilled in the skull, is an ancient form of neurosurgery that has been performed since the late Stone Age. Exactly why ancient peoples performed trepanation has remained a matter of debate: some researchers argue that it was performed for medical reasons, as it is today, while others believe it was done for magical or religious reasons. A new study by two American anthropologists now provides evidence that the Incas performed trepanation to treat head injuries; that the procedure was far more common than was previously thought; and that the Incan practitioners of trepanation were highly skilled surgeons with a detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the skull. Of these 411 skulls, 66 exhibited perforations of varying shape and size. The authors also show that the success rate of the procedure improved with time, as the Inca empire progressed and made advances in medicine. Andrushko, V.
Exploring the Inca Heartland: Machu Picchu We wandered down a long stretch of Inca road from the Sun Gate, enjoying the view of the site below us and feeling good about having hiked the Inca Trail. To us, it seemed that slogging over the passes and heights had earned us more of a right to be there than the bus loads of tourists who were driven there from Cusco. We looked about for awhile, then continued down to our campsite in the valley below. We were all blown out and rather grotty, so a trip to the natural hot baths at Aguas Calientes was in order, followed by dinner at one of the local restaurants near the train tracks. Tomorrow, after spending most of the day at the site, we'd catch the train here for the ride back to Cusco. How lost was Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca? It does appear that no Spanish artifacts have been found in solid contexts at Machu Picchu either by Bingham or the recent Peruvian excavations directed by Julio Tello. Machu Picchu was (and is) not a large site. Back to Map Share
ToonDoo - World's fastest way to create cartoons! The Incas The Incas The Incas, an American Indian people, were originally a small tribe in the southern highlands of Peru. In less than a century, during the 1400s, they built one of the largest, most tightly controlled empires the world has ever known. Their skill in government was matched by their feats of engineering. Roads, walls, and irrigation works constructed by the Incas are still in use today. Social Order To fully appreciate the Inca achievement, it helps to visualize the difficult terrain of western South America. The Empire The basic unit of Inca society was the village, or neighborhood, in which the residents thought of each other as at least distantly related. The Emperor. Established custom guaranteed that the emperor behave responsibly. Nobles. The four nobles who governed the four quarters of the empire served as the emperor's council. Language. Way of Life There are many gaps in our knowledge of Inca life. From these we know that most Incas lived in villages. Dress. Food. Work.
Inca mathematics Version for printing It is often thought that mathematics can only develop after a civilisation has developed some form of writing. Although not easy for us to understand today, many civilisations reached highly advanced states without ever developing written records. Now of course it is difficult for us to know much about such civilisations since there is no written record to be studied today. The civilisation we discuss, which does not appear to have found a need to develop writing, is that of the Incas. The quipu was not a calculator, rather it was a storage device. The quipu consists of strings which were knotted to represent numbers. 586 on a quipu. For larger numbers more knot groups were used, one for each power of 10, in the same way as the digits of the number system we use here are occur in different positions to indicate the number of the corresponding power of 10 in that position. Now of course recording a number on a string would, in itself, not be that useful.
Viracocha And The Coming Of The Incas Sacred Texts Native American Index Previous Next from "History of the Incas" by Pedro Sarmiento De Gamboa, translated by Clements Markham, Cambridge: The Hakluyt Society 1907, pp. 28-58. THE NATIVES OF THIS LAND affirm that in the beginning, and before this world was created, there was a being called Viracocha. He created a dark world without sun, moon or stars. Owing to this creation he was named Viracocha Pachayachachi, which means "Creator of all things." And when he had created the world he formed a race of giants of disproportioned greatness painted and sculptured, to see whether it would be well to make real men of that size. Viracocha ordered these people that they should live without quarrelling, and that they should know and serve him. Some of the nations, besides the Cuzcos, also say that a few were saved from this flood to leave descendants for a future age. IT IS RELATED that everything was destroyed in the flood called uñu pachacuti. his orders were obeyed during the war.