Transcript THE INCA - capehistory

THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE
AMERICAS
–
PRE-COLUMBIAN SETTLEMENTS
 The Inca controlled a large empire in the Andean
Region of South America which is present day
Peru.
 The empire expanded rapidly to include
Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia.
 The Inca called their land ‘Tawantinsuyu’
 The empire was vast and sophisticated consisting
of highways, stone temples, terraced land and
swinging bridges.
 The term ‘Inca’ actually refers to the ruler who
was believed to be the child the sun.
 ‘Quechua’ was the official language of the Inca
realm. However, there were about 20 local
languages spoken.
 The Emperor was the head of government
 It was believed that the emperor was a
descendant of the ‘Sun God’
 The emperor was called the ‘Lord Inca’
 Lord Inca was regarded as both a king and a god
 The Lord Inca resided in ‘Cuzco’ the capital of
the empire
 The empire had four political divisions
 Each division was governed by a nobleman
appointed by the Lord Inca
 Each division was sub-divided into provinces
ruled by a governor
 In each province there were districts made up
of villages which were governed by ‘Curacas’
 In each village there were ‘ayallu’
 The ‘ayallu’ was made of groups of ten
peasants
 Each ayallu had an overseer/foreman
 The empire was operated from funds/taxes
called ‘mita’
 All members of the empire except nobles were
required to pay mita
 Mita took the form of gifts or labour
 Inca people who worked in areas such as
gold and silver mining, building
construction or working in the fields made
their mita contributions in these forms
 The Inca had a very strong and
sophisticated army
LORD INCA
• Also called the Emperor or Supreme Inca
• Was responsible for making final decisions
NOBLES
• Were members of the royal family, they did not pay taxes
• Responsible for one of each of the four divisions
GOVERNOR
• Rulers of provinces
• Supervisors of the curacas
CURACAS
• assisted the governors and supervised the foremen
FOREMEN
• Responsible for clans called ayallu
 Houses were simple comprising a single room
with thatched roof
 The interior was practically bare
 Animal hides or woolen mats were used as
beds
 Each home had a fireplace fuelled by the
droppings of animals such as llama and alpaca
 The Inca people wore loose garments
consisting of a piece of cloth pinned at the
shoulder
 They also wore sandal made from llama skins
 Their attire also included a head dress which
varied from province to province
 The Lord Inca’s garments were specially woven
by priestesses who were trained for this task
from as early as age ten
 The noble wore clothes of fine quality
 Those of higher classes enjoyed the privilege of
wearing large ear plugs
 Generally, the Inca people wore a great deal of
jewelry
 Inca food consisted mostly of starchy foods such
as potatoes, corn (maize) and quinoa
 Their source of protein was from guinea pigs and
beans
 Inca people also enjoyed fruits and vegetables
 In the highlands the Inca preserved their potatoes
by freezing them and extracting the juice. The
freeze dried potatoes was called ‘chunu’
 The meat of the guinea pig was dried and cut into
strips called ‘charqui’
 The lowland Inca preferred to eat maize which
was ground in a mill and cooked in porridge.
 The Inca did not cook with salt, rather they licked
it from the palm of their hands while they ate
 The Inca people made beer from maize
 Women were responsible for the maintenance
of the home
 They also assisted with the production of food
 Women spun yarn to weave cloth for garments
and blankets
 They also attended to the animals
 Every Inca woman was expected to marry
 At her first menstruation an Inca girl was
required to fast for three days
 After the fasting period, she was washed by her
mother and dressed in special clothes
 She would then be presented to her family and
her uncle would give her a name e.g. Egg, Star,
Gold
 She would then be paired to a boy for marriage
 Worship was focused on the sun
 The Lord Inca was thought to be a descendant of
the sun
 The Lord Inca made sacrifices of gold, silver and a
boy or girl (10 yrs) to his father the Sun
 About 500 girls and boys were kept for the
purpose of sacrifice which was done in a room
lined with gold
 Sacrifices took place at sunrise
 ‘Viracocha’ was the creator of all gods
 ‘Inti’ was the Sun God
 ‘Mama-Kilya’ was the Moon Mother
 ‘Illapa’ was the God of Thunder which
controlled the rain
 Temples for worship were constructed at the
top of pyramids called ‘Coriancha’
 The Inca traded goods such as fish, cloth, pots
 They made balsa rafts for sailing and catching fish
 The cloth was highly rated and was woven into
beautiful patterns of various colours
 There was also intensive agricultural activities
 All arable land was brought under cultivation in
order to feed the large population
 Irrigation canals were built mile long at the edges
of fertile valleys
 Human and animal waste were used as soil
fertilizers as soil quality was poor
 Those Inca people who neither farmed or fished
became herdsmen tending to the llama
 The agricultural year was regulated by a precise
calendar
 Inca developed a highly functional style of
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architecture
They displayed engineering techniques and fine
masonry
They constructed fortresses e.g. ‘Sacahuanman’
near Cuzco
Bridges were also constructed for the purposes of
carrying water and communication.
There were 3 types of bridges – swing, pontoon
and raft
 A complex road network was developed
 Weaponry was also sophisticated and was
considered to be the best in the Americas
 The Inca mixed tin and copper to form a
strong bronze which was molded into
weapons such as arrows
 Other weapons included bolas, slings and
clubs