Inca Empire: Rise, Culture, and Legacy

The Rise of the Inca Empire

Around 1500, during the mid-fourteenth century, a small tribe rose from obscurity in the highlands of modern Peru to create one of the mightiest empires of Ancient America.

Early Inca Life and Development

• Around 2500 BCE, they had a village life. Their traditions originated on the coast, based on fishing, cultivating, and food gathering.
• After centuries of simple village life, a strong cultural advance began about 900 BCE, associated with progress in agriculture due to population pressure.

Cultural and Technological Advancements

• They developed a distinctive style in building, art, and ceramics, called Chavín.
• The Mochica culture built pyramids, temples, and large irrigation canals, evolving into a highly complex society.
• Around 600 CE, the focus shifted from the coast to the highlands, where a great ceremonial center with impressive architecture arose.

Inca Society and Beliefs

• The Inca believed in reincarnation. Ceremonial burials and mummification prepared the dead for the afterlife with clothing, food, and other items.
• Remarkable achievements in political and social organization attracted significant interest.
• The physical environment—high mountains, the Humboldt Current, and short rivers—was key to their cultural development, providing water for irrigation systems.
• Coastal waters rich in fish and guano, and fertile valleys supporting crops like maize and beans, provided sustenance. Llamas and alpacas supplied meat and wool.

Inca Empire and Legacy

• The Inca conquered an area stretching from southern Colombia to central Chile.
• The empire, centered in Cusco in the Peruvian Andes, included coastal and mountain regions of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and parts of Chile and Argentina.
• Despite never developing a written language, they were a highly intelligent group.