Inca Culture
Kelly Prince
History
● Estimates ranging from 4 million people to over 37 million people
have been debated as the population of the Inca empire at its peak
● was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America
Pachacuti's son Túpac Inca Yupanqui began conquests to the north in
1463
His most important conquest was the Kingdom of Chimor, the Inca's
only serious rival for the coast of Peru.
Túpac Inca's empire stretched north into modern day Ecuador and
Colombia.
● Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro
and his brothers explored Panama, reaching Inca territory by 1526
● In July 1529 the queen of Spain signed a charter
allowing Pizarro to conquer the Incas
Location & Migration
● Empire was called "Tawantinsuyu"
○ Land of the 4 Quarters
● Inca Capital: Cuzco
● Mainly the left shore of South America
● 1532: The Inca empire migration ranged
from the pacific coast to the Atlantic coast
and from central Chile to Ecuador
● Currently most popular in Peru
Climate
● Hot & Dry
● Scientist say Incas would be nothing without
the good weather produced by the climate
● Glacial ice supplied plenty of water and crops
Resources
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Potatoes
Tomatoes
Cotton
Peanuts
Coca
Llama were used for transportation and meat
Always more than enough resources for
everyone
Economic Lifestyle
● The Inca had a controlled planned economy.
● The government would take a percentage
from clans as tribute.
● The elders who could not do hard labor,
would make textile products as tribute.
● No evidence of a market economy or
currency
● People were required to pay taxes
in the form of labor and in return
were given necessities
Fall of the Inca Empire
● Deadly plague, small pox, swept
through the empire following
the Spanish Invasion.
○ Within a few years smallpox
claimed between 60% and 94%
of the Inca population
● Francisco Pizarro and his brother
conquered the empire under the order of the queen of spain in
1529
● Manco tried to use the feud between brothers to his
advantage. He recaptured Cusco in 1536, but the Spanish
retook the city afterwards.
● After the fall of the Inca Empire the Inca culture were slowly
destroyed
Government
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The ruler was said to be a "descendant of the Sun God Inti."
He would not be considered a god, but was treated as such.
The ruler would marry his sister and was not allowed to marry
"humans"
Their oldest child wasn't necessarily heir to the throne, the child who was most fit
was chosen
Each person had his own responsibility and freedom to live his life while
contributing to society. The more powerful you were, the more people you
controlled.
In the Inca they had very serious laws. If you committed murder you were thrown
off a cliff. If you stole or cheated your hands and feet were to be cut off and fed to
the animals.
The common people were divided into clans called "ayllus". To join a clan, you
ancestry was traced. You married within your clan and interacted with the
government through your clan. You also paid your taxes through the clan.
Relationships & Family Life
● Families had arranged marraiges
● Women's responsibilities were weaving textiles.
● Men's responsibilities were to farm, to mine and
to serve one time in the army.
● The leading Inca owned all the land, but
families were given land
to farm depending
on how many children
they had.
Contributions to Society
● Architecture was one of the most important Inca arts.
○ The Inca's built large beautiful structures such as Machu
Pichu, inspiring architects today
● The Inca's contributed in medicine and surgery, they made
many discoveries in medicine.
● Designed organized road systems,
influencing those of the Spanish
conquistadors and todays modern
roads
● Calenders
● Astronomy
● Mathematics/ measuring system
Religion
● Women called "Aclla" were the virgins who performed religious duties.
● The Sun God Inti was the most powerful, but there were various other
gods and there was also ancestral worship.
● Believed strongly in reincarnation
● Viracocha Created all living things
● Apu Illapu was the Rain God, prayed to when
they need rain
● Mama Occlo was the god who gave wisdom
to civilize the people, taught women to weave cloth,
and build houses
● Manco Cápac wasknown for his courage and sent to
earth to become first king of the Incas, taught people
how to grow plants, make weapons, work together and
worship the Gods
Music
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Inca music had only five tones (do, re, fa, sol, la)
It was enough to create 4 different types of music melodies
Haylli (War melodies)- in battlefield before battle
Ayarachi (Funeral melodies- burial ceremonies or days of
grieving
3. Harawi (Religious melodies)-talk about infinite power of the
Inca god Wiracocha
4. Trillatakiy (Agricultural labor melodies)- about love and
ancedotes
● Made instruments from copper, stone, bones, or
wood.
Literature
● Hand weaving was practiced,
used instead of writing in some cases
● They did not write, but passed down all their
knowledge orally. They used rope with string
hanging down in knots called "quipu / kipu" as a
method to remembering things and events.
● Official language was Quechua, spoken in hundreds
of different local dialects
● Lacked a written language
Art
● Inca pottery is the best well known artwork
● They used feathers to decorate everything,
such as Inca masks, head decorations,
temple wall decorations, armors of brave
Inca warriors, and many other artifacts
Clothing
● Clothes consisted of woven
or knitted tiles, they were held
together by large metal pins
● Women- wore a one-piece
dress that reached to the ankles
and was bound by the waist
● Men- wore a sleeveless
tunic with a large cloak to
wear over the shoulders
Customs
● Women married at 16
● The Inca army was the most powerful in the area at that
time, because they could turn an ordinary villager or
farmer into a soldier, ready for battle
● Inca Leaders were mummified
● Men were both farmers and soldiers at a moments
notice
● Prayed to specific gods for certain necessities
○ Ex: Rain God, Apu Illapu, for good rain to grow
crops
Cuisine
● The civilization stretched across many regions,
which meant a great diversity of plants and animals.
● Amaranth was one of the regular foods
● Chili peppers were an important and daily part of
their diet
● Potatoes were also a regular
part of their diet, there were
over hundred varieties of it
Education
● Starts as soon as they the baby is born, they won't hold the
baby so they don't get used to being in the arms of their
parents
● Once the baby can sit and walk by themselves the parents
teach them how to take care of the family
● Once the child is three they assign them responsibilities, such
as grazing animals, this continues till they are nine
● Once a child is nine the parents duty of teaching them now is
joined with the government-the government assigns them
duties
● At this point boys and girls lead their own
educational path, boys have physical
competitions and the girls have home education.
Technology
● The Incas had no iron or steel, and their weapons were
not much better than those of their enemies
○ Used bones, wood, copper and animal skin to create
weapons such as swords, helmets and attire.
● The Inca used assemblages of knotted strings, known as
Quipu to record information
● The Inca made many discoveries
in medicine. They performed skull
surgery at a 80-90%
success rate, they cut holes in the skull in
order to relieve fluid buildup and
inflammation caused by head wounds.
Cited Sources
● O'Connor, J. J. "Mathematics of the Incas." Inca Mathematics. Jan.
2001. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.
uk/HistTopics/Inca_mathematics.html>.
● Hagen, Von. "The Incas." The Incas. Latina America Studies, Feb.
1996. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.latinamericanstudies.
org/incas/collier.htm>.
● "Inca Civilization." Crystalinks. Web. 06 June 2012. <http:
//crystalinks.com/incan.html>.
● Gascoigne, Bamber. “History of Incas” HistoryWorld. From 2001,
ongoing. <http://www.historyworld.
net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?
groupid=3077&HistoryID=ac84&gtrack=pthc>
● Clark, Liesl. "The Lost Inca Empire." PBS. PBS, 01 Nov. 2000. Web.
06 June 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lost-incaempire.html>.