1. Social Studies
for 9 th E.G.B.
THE INCAN EMPIRE Teacher:
Mauricio
Torres

2. WHO WERE THE INCAS?
 Before they created an Empire, the Incas
lived as a small tribe in the city of Cuzco,
in Perú.
 In the mid 1400s, Pachacuti rose as a
leader and began conquering neighboring
territory in the Andes. His successors
followed the same lead and quickly built
an Empire
 The Empire stretched from what we know
today as northern Ecuador to central Chile.
 12 million people lived in it in various
types of terrain such as: coastal deserts,
snowy mountains and fertile valleys.
 They didn’t keep written records of their
history, but instead relied on oral tradition.

3. KEEPING A TIGHT GRIP
 Power was held from Cuzco.
 To avoid losing control of
his new empire, Pachacuti
replaced leaders in the
conquered villages by
people from his own
territory.
 Also, children from newly
conquered lands were sent
to Cuzco to learn the Inca
way of life.
 Quechua was the of ficial
language and thus was
spoken throughout the
empire.

4. ECONOMICS
 Of ficials kept a tight control on economy.
 Each household was told was work they
had to do. This way they worked for
themselves as well as the central
government.
 People worked, soldiered or mined. This
was a way of paying tribute to the emperor.
It was a tax through labor and not money.
It was called “ mita”.
 There were no markets or merchants, so it
was up to the of ficials to distribute goods
among the population.
 Even though the government took a lot of
production away form its people, it also
looked out for them. The surplus was used
for emergencies or for people who could
not care for themselves.

5. BEING AN INCA
 The rulers controlled daily life very closely, leaving little space
for personal freedom.
 Even so, they looked up for the welfare of everyone in the
empire.

6. BEING AN INCA
 Social Divisions
 Upper class: Emperor, priests and governments officials.
 They wore the best clothes
 Lived in stone houses
 Didn’t have to work or tribute tax.
 Went on vacations to Macchu Picchu (same as today, right?)
 Lower class: artisans, farmers and servants.
 Dressed in plain clothes
 Lived simply
 By law they couldn’t more goods than what they needed to survive.
 Religion
 Incas believed their rulers were related to the sun god, and never really died.
They were mummified when they died.
 Ceremonies included sacrifices, not human (not always), but rather animals.
 Certain areas, as mountain tops, had special religious value and thus were
worshipped.
 Near Cuenca, you can find Cojitambo, which has old ruins, an odd shape for a mountain and is used
today as a climbing spot.

7. ACHIEVEMENTS
 Masonry: Stonework. They would cut
and carve stone so perfectly, that
when they built their grand palaces,
they didn’t need anything like
cement to keep them in place.
 Road networks: They stretched north
to south and were used as ways for
the army or mail couriers ( chasquis)
to move around the empire.
 Artwork: They worked with gold and
silver, as well as doing pottery.
Textiles were also made by them.

8. FARMING
 Most of the empire was based on the Andes on steep slopes.
 They developed a “terrace system” to farm and keep the soil
well irrigated.
 The Incas also domesticated the llama.

9. DEMISE
The Tauantinsuyu  In the 1520s, when the ruler passed
away, his two sons (Atahualpa and
Huascar)star ted a civil war to see
who would rule the empire.
 Atahualpa won, but the fierce
fighting had weakened the army.
 The Spanish, led by Francisco
Pizarro, arrived at Cuzco. They
attacked the Incas (even though
greatly outnumbered), captured
Atahualpa and killed thousands.
 They asked for a ransom (a room
filled with gold and silver) in order
to secure his release, but killed him
anyways.
 The Incas fought back , but they
were eventually defeated by Pizarro
and his men. They were to rule for
the next 300 year s.

10. ASK YOURSELF
The Tauantinsuyu
 Why do you think the Spanish
murdered Atahualpa?

11. ASK YOURSELF
The Tauantinsuyu
 Why do you think the Spanish
murdered Atahualpa?
 They feared he would lead his
people into rebellion .

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World Histor y (Teacher ´s
Edition) (1st Edition ed.). (H. McDougal, Ed.) Orlando, Florida,
US.: Houghton Mif flin Harcourt Publishing Company.
 Images taken from Google.