Inca Civilization: Short Lived But Profound
The Inca Civilization was relatively short-lived comparison to other ancient civilizations. It was dated from approximately 1000 AD until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1532. Not much is known historically about the Incas. At around 1100 AD they founded a city called Cuzco. It was from there the Inca Civilization began to spread by taking over other territories. The Inca Civilization spread to territories spanning from Ecuador to Northern Chile. Their civilization encompassed millions of people.
Unlike the other military civilizations in Mesoamerica the Inca’s would take over a territory and rule by proxy. After taking over an area they would incorporate the areas local leaders into their imperial system. For those that supported them the rewards were great. Each conquered tribe still ruled independently with a council of elders but their allegiance were to the Inca Civilization.
The Incas considered themselves divine and their ruler was the Son of the Sun God whom they worshiped. The ruler himself or king was called the Sapa Inca. His power was absolute. Underneath him was his royal family consisting of his immediate family, his wives the Coyas and his children. This was the ruling aristocracy. Beneath them were High Priest and the Army Commander and Chief. Under them came the 4 Apus or regional army chiefs. The Incan society was made up of ayllus or clans of families that lived and worked together. Each ayllus was headed by a chief or curaca. After the 4 Apus came temple priests, architects, administrators and army generals. Under them came artisans, musicians, army captains and the Inca accountants called quipucamayoc. At the bottom came sorcerers, farmers, herding families and conscripts. Each of these levels of society had a head boss. The Inca Civilization had no writing but did have a system of using knotted strings called quipu to keep accurate accounts of troops, supplies, population data and agricultural inventory. They were excellent weavers; the woven patterns were used it as a form of writing at times. Of the Urbanized Civilization the Inca civilization had the best and most brilliant engineers. Some of the forts they built were so precise the stones did not need mortar and fit till this day. They built the most intricate of road system of 14,000 roads. Because of the difficult terrain the Incas improved the terrace system of agriculture that was used before them. They built stonewalls to create raised level fields. These brought step like fields called terraces in areas that could not raise crops before that. They also created a complex canal system to bring water to the terraces and make water available where scarce to various areas. For the Inca Civilization Religion and language went hand in hand. The language was developed from nature. They believed all deities came from the supreme Sun God Wiraqocha. They were deeply religious people and believed in reincarnation. They would leave hair and nail clippings in case the spirits need them. The Incas regularly used sorcerers who were held in high regard to protect them against spirits. They practiced animal sacrifice and only in extreme emergencies used humans. Their temples and architecture was covered in gold, silver and precious stones, which made a plundering field day for the Spanish. At the height of Inca Civilization is when the Spanish Conquistadors came crashing in. The Incas thought the Spaniards were demigods because of their light skins. This made it easier for the Spanish to take over. The Inca were tricked into a peaceful meeting with Francisco Pizzaro and his entourage of mercenaries in 1532. At this meeting the Inca Emperor was kidnapped and held for ransom. Although the Spanish were greatly outnumbered the Inca could not match guns and cannons. Eventually the emperor was executed in 1533 after his family was wiped out first. Most of the Inca destruction was due to the disease brought to them from the Spanish. These two things the kidnapping and disease where the main reason the Spanish were able to take over the Inca Empire. The Spanish stole the bulk of Inca Gold, Silver and precious stones. The Inca that weren’t rubbed out were reduced to slavery. They worked on Spanish plantations and in gold and silver mines that the Spanish stole from the Inca people.
Mayan Civilization Ancient Maya History
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