From approximately 1450 to 1532, the western coast of South America flourished under a vast Incan Empire. At their height, the Inca were worthy of comparison to the ancient Roman society. Among their many achievements, their roadways, government, and counting systems particularly helped the Incas dominate a vast area of South America. They set up roads running the length of the kingdom from Ecuador to the southern borders of Argentina and Chile making an extensive communication system. Each road had Chasquis or messengers at certain posts along the way who carried messages from one end to the other with remarkable efficiency. The network of roads led to the great success of the Incas, simplifying the government efforts to keep watch over the empire. Their government was very organized and kept records of everything. Although the Inca had no writing system, they had a complex method of counting called the Quipu. The Quipu was a system for recording data using knotted cords. Knots indicated units; tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands. Single cords would be fastened to hang from a thicker cord like a fringe to keep track of such things as crop yields and storage capacity. These Quipus were quite complicated and managed by Quipucamayocs, or accountants. To tell the difference between knots and their meanings, Quipucamayocs used different sizes and colors. For example, a yellow string signified gold, a white one: silver, and red: soldiers..Like many other cultures, the Inca's history was based on a creation story. The Inca beginning starts with the creator god Tici Viracocha who came out of Lake Titicaca. The people inhabiting its surroundings had insulted the great god in some way so he destroyed them, and cast them into stone. After this, Viracocha created the sun and the moon and new human life forms to be distributed to different sites along the western coast of South America. Some of these new life forms headed for Cuzco, later the greatest city of the Incas. Manco Capac then came forth from Lake Titicaca and headed to Cuzco via underground caves. He finally arrived with his brothers and all of their wives/sisters to the cave of Pacariqtamba in the Valley of Cuzco. After defeating his three brothers, who turned to stone after death, and taking their wives, Manco Capac became the first ruler of the Inca. From him descended all of the later Inca rulers. Stone played a major role in the Inca creation story as well as in their daily lives. Not only was stone a primary building material for great structures, to the Inca it had a greater significance. Inside the stone was a spirit or power strong enough to turn it into men and vice versa. For this reason, the Inca worshipped stone and appreciated the actual substance instead of what could be built with it. For example, Huacas or sacred stones appear in the creation story. When all of Manco Capac brothers turned to stone, their remains were considered to be Huacas. Ayar Auca, Capac third brother, was renamed Cuzco Huaca and was the field guardian of Cuzco. Also, during the war against the Incas enemies known as the Chanca, one of the empires most accomplished rulers, Pachacutec, prayed to the gods and the Huaca stones transformed into an army and defeated the Chanca.
This respect for the stone and its inner powers gave rise to their expert masonry. They used stones of unusual size and fitted them together without mortar to form walls; one could not insert a sheet of paper between these stones they were so carefully crafted together. The surfaces were smoothly carved and were not squared off to make them look almost alive. This detailed masonry can be seen in Machu Picchu, "the lost city of the Incas." The ancient city sits on top of a mountain 8,000 feet in elevation, virtually untouched since inhabited by the Incas. Because of its elevation and location, the Spanish conquistadors missed Machu Picchu and it turned into a refuge for the escaping Inca during the time of conquest. Amazingly preserved temples still stand with huge walls of artistically carved white granite that demonstrate an obvious expertise. Machu Picchu may be the best preserved and most beautiful example of masonry the Inca Empire had to offer..Another example of the Inca's capability with stone is Sacsahuaman. The Inca described Cuzco as a puma or mountain lion with Sacsahuaman as its head. The ancient fortress in Cuzco was a storehouse containing such items as arms, clothing, and large amounts of jewels, gold, and silver. Probably taking several generations to finish, the immense building shows delicate stone work on its walls. The precision used to build and shape the stones for the structure shows the importance of the fortress. Not only were the Incas experts with stone carving, they also developed an irrigation system to conquer the difficult environmental challenges they faced. The Andes, a region made of steep slopes and soil unfit for farming, posed a challenge to the Inca. To overcome these difficult conditions, the Inca built terraces along the mountainsides. To supply water to their crops, they changed the route of rivers to provide canals for the terraces. This innovation was so successful that many of their terraces are still in use today…The dedication shown towards stone masonry is also Inca sculpture. They molded and carved on a large scale producing buildings like the sacred Sun Temple in Cuzco, but they also worked on a smaller scale. At the time of conquest, chroniclers described extraordinary statues and sculptures made of silver and gold, but few remain because the Spanish melted most of them down. Some small figurines are left. Many of these were buried along with the deceased as offerings or used in religious ceremonies like this llama. Made of silver or gold, these figurines were usually fully dressed covering the precious metal almost completely. Much like their beliefs about stone, the use of the metals was the important factor. Weaving was another significant art form for the Inca. Similar to their government, their weavings were highly organized. Using geometric patterns and brilliant colors for decoration, these fabrics were considered highly valuable. In fact, trade was based on the exchange of weavings. Some of these weavings had records of certain events, which could have been interpreted as a form of writing, but none of these fabrics have survived to the present day.
Although the Incan Empire was large and advanced, it flourished for only a short time. Starting around 1450 A.D., it lasted roughly a century. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro and his men arrived from Panama during a time of civil unrest for the Inca. Huayna Capac, the ruler of the time, had died and left his kingdom to one of his sons Huascar. Enraged, Atahualpa, Capac's other son, defeated and murdered his brother. Taking advantage of the weakness of a culture in civil war, Pizarro attacked and killed Atahualpa, signifying the end of the Inca Empire, and then melted down all of his gold.The Inca culture was highly sophisticated, but most information about them was lost during the time of conquest. The Spanish chroniclers, who provided us with witness information, generally observed the Inca with a European bias and destroyed most of their decorated cities leaving us with little evidence of a once great culture. Today archaeologists work to uncover some of the buried mysteries to further our knowledge of the Inca.
The Mascapaicha.- The Mascapaicha was the imperial crown that declared the empire of a new Inca when the predecessor died. Only the Supreme Priest (Quechuan: Willaq Uma) of the Empire, had the power to encircle the Auqui, to the prince inheritor. It is known, also, that he Inca had the short hair, to differ from the subjects.
Origins of the Inca Incas (by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala).- Lake Titicaca, the cradle of Incan civilization, and the origin of the Inca Empire is the highest lake navigable in the world, at 12,506 ft (3,812 m) above sea level. It covers some 3,200 sq mi (8,300 sq km) and is 120 mi (190 km) long by 50 mi (80 km) wide. A narrow strait joins the lake's two bodies of water, which have 41 islands, some densely populated (Uros, Taquile, Amantaní, Isla Del Sol). The remains of one of the oldest known American civilizations have been found in the area. Temple ruins on Titicaca Island mark the spot where, according to legend, the founders of the Inca were sent down to earth by the sun…Located in the Altiplano, a high basin of the Andes Mountains, and on the border between Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca has an average depth of between 107 m, and a maximum depth of 281 m. It contains the great early archaeological site of Tiahuanaco, actually in Bolivia…According to Garcilaso de la Vega, in Inca mythology, Inca Manco Capac and Mama 0cllo, children of the Sun, emerged from the depths of Lake Titicaca to found Cusco and the Inca Empire. Inca Manco Capac was a culture hero rather than a conqueror, and he and Mama Ocllo taught the people industries and arts and gathered then to found Cuzco…Inca Manco Capac ruled the Inca Empire, Cuzco for about forty years, established a code of laws, and is thought to have abolished human sacrifice. The code of laws forbade marrying one's sister, but these laws did not apply to Inca nobility so he married his sister, Mama Ocllo. With her, Inca Manco Capac had a son named Inca Roca who became the next Sapaq Inca. Inca Manco Capac is thought to have reigned until about 1230, though some put his death in 1107.
Titles of the Inca.- The most generic title was Qhapaq Inka (The Governing Inca) / Sapa Inca (literary, unique Inca - to taking in count-, with the connotation of the most important of the beings)./ Qhapaq Apu (Principal divinity). // Wakcha Khuyaq // benefactor of poor).Inti Churin (Sun's son).
The elite of Cusco.- The nobles of blood: They were the members of the Panacas Cusco. Every Inca founded his own Panaca, which was including his principal wife (Coya), his secondary handcuffs and his children. These women possessed special lands and a great political power. There were twelve Panacas…The nobles of privilege: They were those that had been ennobled by the Inca as prize by some important given service. It was not necessarily a hereditary category..Between these two nobles' categories there were differences, due the highest administrative, religious and political charges were occupied by the nobles of blood…The subjects respected the Inca orders with submission, demonstrating an unlimited reverence, so much that when they were bringing him over, they did it with attitude of humility, only the Panacas and the nobles most close to him, directed the word to him and were using as intermediaries in the official conversation with the rest of the people
List of the Emperors – Incas.- The official list of leaders of the Empire Inca was written by the majority of the chroniclers as Capaccuna, of the Quechuan Qhapaqkuna, "The leaders ". There has been inspected often that there existed more leaders of whom this one agrees and whom several were erased from the official history of the Empire for different motives, but these theses lack foundation. It is very improbable that there were Incas not lists in the Capaccuna for some reason. Nowadays it is considered in whole as 13 Incas grouped in two dynasties: Under Cusco (Qu Urin Qusqu) and High place Cusco (Qu Hanan Qusqu).
Dynasty Ruin Cusco (Kingdom of the Cuzco - Local Phase).-
1200 - 1230: Inca Manco Capac - Mythical founder of the empire.
1230 - 1260: Inca Sinchi Roca - Said to have created the royal forehead fringe.
1260 - 1290: Inca Lloque Yupanqui - Threatened by other groups in the Cuzco valley.
1290 - 1320: Inca Mayta Capac - Legendary child prodigy.
1320 - 1350: Inca Capac Yupanqui - First to demand tribute from peoples outside the Cuzco valley.
Dynasty Hanan Cusco.
1350 - 1380: Inca Roca - First to use.
1380 - 1400: Inca Yahuar Huacar - Kidnapped as a child, cemented relationships with neighboring groups through marriage.
1400 - 1438: Inca Wiracocha - Began the conquest of peoples outside of the Cuzco valley
Dynasty Hanan Cusco. (Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo - Expansion Phase).
1438 - 1471: Inca Pachacutec - Ruled and developed the Inca Empire.
1471 - 1493: Inca Tupac Yupanqui.
1493 - 1525: Inca Huayna Capac - Died of plague.
1525 - 1532: Inca Huascar - Son of Huayna Capac, executed by Atahuallpa.
1532 - 1533: Inca Atahualpa - Son of Huayna Capac, captured and executed by the Spanish.
1533 - 1533: Inca Tupa Huallpa - Son of Huayna Capac, crowned by Spanish and then poisoned.
1533 - 1534: Manco Inca - Son of Huayna Capac, crowned by Spanish but then rebelled in 1536 and set up a jungle state.
1537 - 1549: Paullu Inca - Son of Huayna Capac, puppet Inca of Cuzco.
1549 - 1572: Carlos Inca - Son of Paullu Inca, puppet Inca of Cuzco, married a Spanish lady.
1545 - 1558: Sayri Tupac Inca - First son of Manco Inca, ruled Inca jungle state.
1558 - 1571: Inca Titu Cusi - Second son of Manco Inca, ruled Inca jungle state.
1571 - 1572: Inca Tupac Amaru - Third son of Manco Inca, grandson of Huayna Capac, captured and executed by the Spanish in 1572.
Funeral rites of the Inca. The body of the dead Inca was mummified to be venerated. The viceras were extracted to him and false eyes realized in gold were placed, to give him an appearance of life chunks of gourds were slipping him on the cheeks. The dead Inca was taken to his tomb followed by his wives and servants to be sacrificed, so much if they were offering voluntarily or if they were obliged. The victims who would accompany to the body were intoxicated by alcoholic maize drink and then strangled.
Inca Dressed
1) Feathers of the bird (Ccorekente).
2) Tassel (puyllu).
3) Helmet (chucu).
4) Scepter (sunturpauccar).
5) Cord (llauto).
6) Ear-ring (tulumpi).
7) Rapacejo (mascaipacha).
8) Capelina (phullu).
9) Small scepter (maccana).
10) Shield with small flag (pullcancca with its huifala).
11) Bracelet (chchipana).
12) Band (topaco).
13) Layer (llaccolla).
14) Flecadura (saccsa).
15) Sandals (usuta).
16) Metallic plate (accorasi).
17) Tunic (uncu).
