IncaCivilizationby:LindseyTatum

TheIncaEmpireexistedfrom1438A.D.to1532A.D..Itwaslocatedonastripofland
stretchingfromnorthtosouthinSouthAmerica.Theempirewasonthewestsidefacingthe
PacificOcean.IncaslivedalongtheAndesMountains,coastlinedeserts,andthroughoutthe
AmazonJungle.TheycalledtheirrulertheSapaInca,whowasconsideredtohavethesame
amountofpowerasaking.Whentheircivilizationended,theSapaIncawasAtahualpa.Rulers
werechosenbecausetheywerebelievedtobedescendantsofInti,theIncansungod.The
currentrulerwouldthendecidehissuccessorbychoosingwhichofhissonshethoughtwouldbe
themostsuccessfulruler.Hischoicedidnothaveanythingtodowiththebirthorderofhis
childrenasitdidinmostancientpractices.TheIncascentralizedtheirempireinthecapitalof
Cuzco.Atypeofanimisticreligionwaspracticedwithintheempire.Incaswerepolytheistic.
SomeofthemaingodswereViracocha,thecreatoroftheuniverse,andInti,thesungodand
creatorofCuzco.Sacrificewasoftenpracticedinhopesofpleasingthegods.Mostsacrifices
wereofguineapigsandllamas.Inextremecases,humanswerealsosacrificed.Duringthetime
oftheempire,Incashadoneofthemostadvancedagriculturalsystems.Incaswereableto
developresilientcropstogrowinthemountainousterrainandbuildirrigationscanalstowater
them.Incasalsoterracedthesideofthemountainstocreatemoresurfaceareaforcropstogrow.
TheirdiscoveriescanstillbefoundinpresentdayPeru.Incasalsocreatedelaboratearchitecture
thatcanstillbeseenintheruinsofMachuPicchu.Incasbuiltlargerockwallstoprotectthecity
thatstoodaboutsixtyfeettallandtheywerefifteenhundredinlength.Theconstructionofthese
wallswerealargefeatforthecivilizationduetothelackofmaterialsusedintheprocessandthe
weightoftherocksusedtomakethewalls.FreezedryingwasalsodevelopedintheInca
Empire.Incasusedthemountainssclimatetotheiradvantageandlefttheirfoodoutsideatnight
sothatitwouldfreezeandlastlonger.Freezingthefoodmadeitweighless;therefore,itwas
easierforsoldierstocarryitontheircampaigns.Italsoensuredafoodsourceinsituationssuch
asdroughtsorcropfailures.MostIncaswerefarmersorherdersandfocussedonsubsistence
agriculture,providingonlyenoughfortheirfamiliesandreligiousactivities.Otherpositionsin
thecivilizationweregovernmentofficials,warriors,andweavers.Thegovernmentofficials
decidedcitizensroles.Peoplewiththesetitlewereconsideredtobemorenoblethancommon
farmers.Incastradeditemssuchasgold,silver,andcocoa.Themajorityoftradewasdone
withinoronthewaytothecapital,Cuzco.Inthesociety,theSapaIncawasthewealthiestwith
theVillacUmu,orpriest,behindhim.Afterthem,thehigheststatuswastheroyalfamily.They
weretheSapabloodlineandlivedalifeofluxury.Next,regularIncasservedasthemiddle
classandIncasbyprivilege,thelastfewgenerationswhowerenotdirectlyrelatedtofounders,
wereconsideredlower.TherewasnotmuchseparationbetweenIncasandIncabyprivileges
acceptthatIncasweretrustedwithmoregovernmentauthority.Themaingenderseparationwas
inlabor.Mensworkwasmorephysical,whilewomensworkwasmoredetailed.Their
importancewasmostlyequaldespitedifferentstrengths.
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