1. D: 11/19/12
A: Notes on the Incas
S: How were the Incans similar to the Mayans
and Aztecs?
H: Incan Religion Reading due TOMORROW
w.o.d: quinoa
Warm-Up: Answer questions 1 & 2 under Incan
Roads on pg. 235. Write the questions and
answers.

2. Word of the Day
WORD DEIFINTION SENTENCE PICTURE
Quinoa was
Domesticated
A native plant so it could be
quinoa
to the Andean grown for
region that food by the
Renders
Incans.
nutritious
seeds

3. I. History
a. There is no written history of the
Incas. All we know is from
Spanish writings and artifacts
b. Ruled from 1438 to 1471 in the
Andes mountains of Peru, Chile,
Bolivia & Argentina
c. They were conquered by the
Spanish

4. II. Religion
a. They worshiped many gods & goddesses
b. The creator was the God of nature named
Viracocha
c. The sun god was named Inti and they used
gold to represent him
i. The Incas believed that Inti made the first
Incan Manco Capac who went into the
wilderness and built the first Incan city of
Cuzco
ii. The sun god became the father of all Incan
rulers

5. II. Religion
a. Incas believed that you could figure out what the
gods and goddess wanted by divining. To do this
you had to find magic signs by studying objects
b. They also worshiped huacas or sacred things like
mummies & temples
c. They had daily religious ceremonies
d. Monthly ritual ceremonies were held that included
dancing, feasts, games, songs & parades
e. The Incas did animal and human sacrifices but
only sacrificed children

6. III. Agriculture
a. Incas grew potatoes, corn, tomatoes, avocadoes,
peppers, strawberries, peanuts, cashews, squash, beans,
pineapples, & chocolate
b. The potato was the most important food to the Incans
called papa
c. They had over 40 varieties of potatoes and would freeze
dry there to last for years. They made the first potato
chips
d. Corn was also important and they grew over 20 varieties
called sara
e. In order to grow in the mountains the Incans used terrace
farming to allow them to create farmland in tiers.
f. Men & women worked together to farm
g. They dug trenches & tunnels to get water to the crops
and cities

7. IV. Arts & Crafts
a. Weaving was the most important & well known craft
i. Cloth was made of cotton alpaca, llama & vicuna fur & dyed
to make many colors
ii. They created looms to weave their cloth
iii. The chosen women live in the temples to weave the rulers
clothing that was only worn once then destroyed
b. They used silver, gold, copper & bronze to make
metal objects and decorate clothes, buildings and
pottery
c. Anyone who worked had to pay a work tax and part
of their finished products went to the government
d. All gold become automatic property of the rulers

8. V. Roads & Bridges
a. The Incas built the best transportation systems.
b. Over 12,000 miles of roads were built for pedestrians they
did not use the wheel to move objects or people.
c. Roads were built as part of the labor tax to the
government
d. All roads belong to the government and were only used
with permission
e. They built causeways or hanging bridges to get over
water or had pontoon bridges that floated on top of the
water
f. The last bridge was a basket that hung on rope and
moved by a pulley system.

9. VI. Government
a. Inca was the name of Incan ruler
b. The ruler was a descendant of the gods
c. The ruler had many wives but the main one
was the gueen
d. The ruler also had many children and the
council picked the most promising one to
become Inca
e. A borla or crown was worn by the ruler

10. VI. Government
f. They only ate and drank off things made of gold
g. Servants carried the Inca on a platform he never
walked far
h. Each new ruler had a new temple built
i. There was a 30 day mourning period when the
Inca died
j. The priests and generals all became nobles and
ruled the commoners
k. The government oversaw all work

11. VII. Major Cities
a. The Incas were the best builders of Ancient Latin
America
b. The cities were planned in grids
c. The center of the city had a plaza with the temple priest
and nobles’ houses then commoners around that
d. Close to the cities the Incas built stone fortress in case
of danger
e. All the buildings were made of stone and shaped to fit
like a puzzle so no cement was used to hold them in
place.
f. The two most famous Incan cities are Cuzco & Macchu
Picchu

12. VIII. The Llama
a. The llama was the most important
animal to Incas
b. It was used to carry goods, water &
people
c. It gave the Incans clothing for
warmth, rope, sacks & wool
d. They used the meat to make jerky