Inca Empire Advanced Technology

The Inca were South American Indian people who ruled one of the largest and richest empires in the America's. The Inca Empire began to expand about 1438 and occupied a vast region that centered on the capital, Cusco, in southern Peru. The Empire extended more than 2,500 miles (4,020 kilometers) along the western coast of South America. It included parts of Present - Day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Inca Empire was conquered by Spanish Forces soon after their arrival in 1532.

Inca art is best seen in highly polished metalwork and ceramics. When the war happened between the Inca's and the European, they had destroyed the art of the Inca's. So, it was hard to resemble it. They were inspired by the Chimu civilization. From research I learned that the Inca's weren't poor and they used high quality such as stone to build all the buildings. Their only choice of stone was Yucay limestone, green Sacsayhuaman diorite porphyry, and black andesite. So there wasn't much variety.

The Nile River acted as a highway for the Egyptians, while the Incas actually constructed their own roads and highways to areas of importance. Egyptian beliefs were communicated by word of mouth before writing became established. As writing developed, inscriptions of hieroglyphics were used to communicate religious texts into walls of buildings such as tombs for the noblemen and kings. Political texts were inscribed on stone or written on papyrus using hieroglyphics. Hieratic was developed to communicate more quickly throughout daily life and was taught throughout Egyptian schools. Like the Egyptians, Incas had their own language, though it was only a spoken one known as Quechua. If a message needed sent, the Incas would send a runner to relay the message. Incas created a khipus (a cord with strings hanging from it, some with knots in them). The knots in the khipus were used to record and track census data such as financial debts or labor obligations, as well as other statistical records. The Incas did not have a writing system like the Egyptians, but they utilized their natural resources to create a system of tracking

The Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations each contributed major accomplishments to the world today. These accomplishments established them as advanced societies during their time. The Incans built a large road system, devised a complex irrigation system and developed their own language. The Mayans constructed the largest structure known until modern times, made drastic accomplishments in mathematics, studied astronomy and formed a calendar. The Aztecs built well-organized cities and developed a writing system based on pictures.

The Inca Empire, the massive nation that extended 2,500 miles along the western coast of South America and had a population of over 7 million at its peak. It included all of what is now Ecuador and Peru and most of Chile. Known as “The Children of the Sun”, they excelled at craftsmanship, weaving, and culture (“Children of the Sun”). A very religious people, they worshiped the Sun as their supreme god and held religious festivals monthly to appease these gods. Although they did not value it aside from its beautiful appearance, the Inca Empire was home to millions of pounds of solid gold and silver. The Inca had no use for it except to use it to craft decorations and statues. In fact, an Inca citizen valued cloth more than they valued gold

Perhaps more than 12 million people contributed to the creation of sprawling cities, terraced farmlands, extended roadways, and golden palaces. The Inca empire covered nearly 2,500 miles and included regions of present-day Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Although, like other native peoples throughout the Americas, they did not have their own written language or the use of the wheel, the Incas were extremely intelligent engineers. They built huge stone structures without mortar and designed suspension bridges that crossed deep mountain

During the 15th century, there were two leading empires of Mesoamerica. The Inca Empire, which was located in what is now Peru and the Aztecs, whose area was located in what is now Mexico. Both the Aztec and Inca empires were advanced civilizations with a good economy, agricultural developments, and religious practices that spread across the region of Mesoamerica.

* These civilizations developed complex political systems and large networks of paved roads that unified the civilization Incas in Peru.

The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the Ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Andes are the longest mountain range and one of the highest with its tallest peak, Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, topping out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). The Inca Empire had settlements that ranged from sea level, to its center of government in Cusco at an altitude of 11,200. Despite these difficulties, the Inca people thrived, and managed to create trails, water-ways and agricultural practices that remain in use to this day.

The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire had villages and cities throughout the Andes Mountains. Some of these settlements were as low as sea level and their capital, Cusco, was at an altitude of 11,200 feet. The Andes are considered some of the longest and highest mountain ranges. In fact it’s tallest peak, Mount Aconcaqua, in Argentina, tops out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). Despite the fact that people were traversing mountains the people flourished creating trails, aqueducts and agricultural practices that still exist today.

They were paved through the country, made by quarried stone and packed tightly with sand. It was all level, and the whole road was measured and marked by stones and stone columns as distance indicators. By doing these things, these leaders helped their people to not have to do as much work, and without technology it would not have been

“Guns, germs, and steel” refers to the geographical advantages and disadvantages that were present in early civilizations. Although Europeans some may see them as a genetically superior race, their large amounts of success is due to geographical advantages (Source 1)( Diamond, year). It is shown throughout Diamond’s discoveries that because these three continents lay of the same vertical latitude, they are able to keep up with each other when it comes to livestock (Source 1). Geography has played a major key in shaping the current day cultures of Eurasia, South America, and Africa. Jared Diamond stated in episode one of Guns, Germs, and Steel that Europeans were put on this pedestal over the other continents spoken about in the video.

The economic systems of early American societies were very similar. One of these societies, the Mayans, lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America from the 3rd to the 10th century CE, and they relied on the trade of goods such as obsidian and crops such as cacao beans. Another American civilization was the Aztec civilization. They were located in the Valley of Mexico around the 13th to 16th century CE, and they used slash-and-burn farming to plant crops to trade. The Inca Empire existed from the 13th to the 16th century CE along the Pacific coast of South America near the Andes Mountains. The Inca used terrace farming and irrigation to grow crops such as corn. The economies of these early American civilizations were heavily

During the Dark Ages in Europe, other civilizations throughout the world were going through a Golden Era. For instance, the Africans and the Incas made numerous advancements in several aspects of engineering. The Incas were amazing engineers who build bridges and roads through the most rocky parts of the Andes Mountains. My first source is an online article titled Achievements of the Incas from the website Discover Peru. The quote from the article says, “They built a system of roads and bridges across the roughest terrains of the Andes. Through their system of collective labor and the most advanced centralized economy, the Incas were able to secure unlimited manual labor. They built more than 14,000 miles of paved road that connected Cusco,

By building these terraces it stopped the soil from being washed away by water. They put a layer of gravel under the terraces to help the water drain properly through the soil. The Inca used many birds for fertilizer. They were very important and was a highly prized item.