Inca

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Brigham Young University, Idaho *

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101

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History

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by CaptainHeatMole46

Emma Barnaby Mr. Caleb Smith World History March 23, 2017 Inca Civilization Sometime during the 1400s, an incredible civilization surfaced out of the Andes Mountains. This was the Inca civilization that proceeded to conquer over 2,500 miles worth of land all along the pacific coast. This group has many great accomplishments under their belt. Some of these accomplishments were an intricate road system and a complex record system. The Inca’s road system was often referred to as the royal highway. This highway was crucial part of this empire. This is because so much transportation depended on it. Transportation for their armies, people, and goods all depended on the royal highway. They had two main roads that ran along their empire, one along the coast and one along the highlands. Mark Cartwritght says that they were only able to use tools made of wood, stone, and bronze (Ancient History Encyclopedia). None of these roads were perfectly uniform. Each was made with whatever material was nearby and they weren’t all the same width. They would vary from one meter wide and could go up to 15 meters wide in some areas. Many of these incredible roads are still around today. The royal highway was one of the Inca civilization’s greatest and most impressive accomplishments. This empire also created their own way to keep records. They called this system quipu, or a knot record, according to Cartwright (Ancient History Encyclopedia). They used different colors, knots, and lengths to represent anything from dates to poetry. These records were highly portable, making it easier to spread information. It is also thought that quipu was used as a form Barnaby, 1

of written language. Each quipu had an oral record to accompany it. Cartwright says, “…there grew a body of experts or masters, the khipu kamayuq …These individuals memorized the oral account which fully explained a particular quipu…” (Ancient History Encyclopedia). This job was passed down through the generations and it was a very serious job. Someone forgetting a certain piece of information could be punished. This record keeping helped them not only have a record of stories, but also gave them a way to count their population and keep record of other important things. Some of these incredible records still exist. The Inca civilization was incredibly ingenious in creating a way to keep track of their stories and records. Though the Aztecs had their own great accomplishments, the Incas seemed to be much more ingenious in solving their problems. They used strings, knots, and colors to create a written language of sorts and they created an intricate road system that could transport their armies and goods. Each civilization has incredible accomplishments, however the Inca civilization was by far the smartest and most accomplished one. Barnaby, 2

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