Historical, Cultural, and Geographical Setting of the Incas - Whitney Bailey
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Inca History
The Inca civilization is the sucessors of the mountain city of Tiwanaku. The Inca period lasted from around 1200 A.D. until its fall to ruin in 1532 by the coming of the Spaniards. The Incas reached their peak in the fifteenth century with the empire extending over 2,700 miles. This was due to the Inca ruler [Pachacuti], who reined from 1440 until 1471. With his army, the Incas conquered many lands surrounding Cuzco, its capital city, and the empire began to grown and flourish. They were able to bring several areas under their control over the next 50 years. Those areas included present-day Peru, Bolivia, northern Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador.
Their historical record was preserved through oral tradition, stone, pottery, and gold and silver jewelry that was used by them. The Incas made advances in [hydraulic engineering], agricultural techniques, marvelous architecture, textiles, ceramics and ironworks.
Emperors & Rulers
Population, Society & Language
At its peak, the Inca society had anywhere between six to eight million people, some even report ten million. The society was split into four quadrents where each quadrent met at Cuzco. The provinces were split into upper and lower divisions. The lower was made up of clans of families who lived and worked together called ayllus. The families lived in thatched-roof houses built of stone and mub, and they sat and slept on the floor because they had no furnishings. Each ayllu was supervised by a chief. These families lived in the nearby villages of the cities and only traveled to towns for festivals or business. The cities were mainly used for government and all of the records for the villages were recorded in the city by the [Quipucamayoc]quipucamayoc. The only people who lived in the citites were the metalworkers, carpenters, weavers and other crafters who made artwork for the temples. The government storehouses and soldiers' barracks were located right outside of the citites. The Sapa Inca, which is another name used for the emperor, also had a palace in every city for when he came to visit.
The Imperical Incas clothed themselves in materials made from Alpaca and wore sandles on their feet. As their Empire began to grow the Incas used a universal language called the [Quechua]. The language was based on nature, and all of the elements the tribe depended on had a specific character. Sometimes hand weaving was used instead of writing. The Incas practiced every style of weaving and also made very artistic pottery.
Government, Economy, & Money
The Inca government was based in Cuzco where the emperor lived and was the supreme ruler. The nobles who were under the emperor contained skills that benefited the civilization. Cuzco being the richest city in the New World was the center of Inca life. The Inca Kings and nobles were so rich that they did not want to part with their wealth even in death so it was buired with them. They also owned everything except the houses and some lands that individuals may have owned. However, it was the city's great wealth that destroyed them and is the reason for the pillaging of sacred sites and burial tombs even today. The Incas viewed gold as the "sweat of the sun" and silver as the "tears of the moon." Even though gold and silver were in abundance it was only used for aesthetics. Money existed in the form of work. Each individual paid taxes by working on the myriad roads, crop terraces, irrigation canals, temples or fortresses. The workers were paid in clothing and food.
When it comes to supporting the econonmy, each ayllu had their own self-supporting farm community in which the members worked the land to produce crops such as potatoes, corn and cotton. They lacked wheeled tools and draft animals so most of the work was done by hand. Everyone in the ayllus worked except for the very young and the very old. Children would work by scaring away animals from the crops and helping in the home. Two-thirds of the farmer's goods would be shared by a tax system and the rest they were allowed to keep. Camelids, such as llamas, alpacas, and vicuÂas, were very important. Not only did they carry burdens but they were also raised as a source of coarse wool and of dung, which was used for fuel. The Incas also raised and used as a source of meat protein, guinea pigs, ducks, and dogs.
Fall of the Inca Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire occured in 1532 when Francisco Pizarro arrived in South America. Upon meeting and being welcomed by the emperor Atahualpa, the conquistador brought him to his camp, captured him and held him for ransom before killing him. Pizarro was able to get $50 million dollars in gold from the Incas by promising to set the emperor free. Then in 1533, Pizarro entered the Cuzco. The Incas resisted conquest for as long as they could but eventually they were conquered. Not only did the Spanish greatly change the Inca culture, but they also eventually Hispanicized it.
The Spaniards were astonished to find how advanced and rich the Incas were. The Incas even had a garden and other statues such as llamas made of gold. When the Spaniards arrived they did not have to use warfare to destroy the Incas because two-thirds of their population was killed by diseases. With such a loose, the Spaniards were able to take the Inca gold and overtake their civilization. However, they Spaniards missed a location because it was not until 1911 that Machu Picchu was found. It was a citadel on the top of a mountain along the Urubamba River in Peru. It is uncertain what it was really used for but is believed to have been built as a place of worhsip to the sun god.
Inca Culture
Religion
The Inca were very religious people. Sorcerors served as protectors from spirits that could cause evil to befall on them at any time. They believed in reincarnation and even saved nail clippings, hair cuttings, and teeth in case a spirit returned and needed them. The religious center of Inca life was in the middle of a fortress known as the Sacsahuaman. They worshipped the Earth goddess Pachamama and the sun god, the Inti. The Inca believed that the sun god sent his children Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo to found Cuzco. Inti Raymi, which is the feast of the sun was the biggest, most important festivity carried out in Inca times. It was done to worship the sun god and was preformed every year on June 21, which is the winter solstice of the Southern Hemisphere. Because the Inca were believed to be descendants of the sun they had to worship it and carry out festivals to thank it for the abundant crops. They also offered up a completely black or white llama as a sacrifice which the High Priest would preform. Days before the ceremony everyone had to practice fast and sexual abstinence. After all of the ritual stages were finished everyone would gather and be entertained with music, dances and abundant chicha. Now the Inti Raymi is held annually on June 24th and is a great way to imagine how the Incas lived at that time.
Inca Geography
The Inca empire stretched north to south along the Andean range from Colombia to Chile and reached west to east from the Atacama desert to the Amazonian rain forest. The Incas called their empire the "Land of the Four Quaters" or the Tahuantinsuyu Empire. Because their land ranged along high mountainous areas, the Incas daily life was spent at altitudes up to 15,000 feet and ritual life up to 22,057 feet. There were also roads extending through the mountains which perplexes scients today because it must have been very difficult for the Incas to haul soil, and rocks to such incredible hights. The road system stretched almost the entire length of the South American Pacific Coast. They actually had two road systems, one in the mountains and one along the coast, which ran 2,200 miles each. The built 19,000 miles of road and bridges which took great engineering and architectural skill to build along the mountain terrain. The Inca Empire was the largest nation on Earth when it was at its height and it still remains the largest native state to have existed in the western hemisphere.
References
Crystal, Ellie. Ellie Crystal's Metaphysical and Science Website. 28 Mar. 2008. <http://www.crystalinks.com/incan.html>
Inca History, Extent and Organization of the Empire. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia University Press, 2007. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0858774.html>
McClellan, III, James E., and Harold Dorn. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 2006. pg. (40-42, 164-167)