Inca Culture Paper
Inca culture 1
The Inca culture
Samir Ahmed Vallejo
Prof. Carmen Anhalzer
HIS 0331E
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
9 June 2014
Inca culture 2 Abstract
This paper is a research on Inca civilization, especially denoting the most important characteristics that people should know about this people. The Incas had the biggest empire known in America and they had an incredible ability to manage and merge culture to their social structure. Also, they were expert engineers and architects, because at the time they did not had sufficient technology but still they accomplished to built amazing buildings. At the most, the Incas developed agriculture as their main activity and they achieved many breakthroughs …show more content…
in the field.
Key words: Incas, empire, architecture, agriculture, social and political structure.
Inca culture 3 Before the Spanish conquest, throughout America there were many civilizations that thrived in its lands and are remembered because of their cultural influence to the world. But without a doubt, the largest empire that America had was the Inca Empire. In its time, the empire was called Tawantinsuyu by the Incas, which meant “the Land of the
Four Quarters” (Pratt, n.d.). This vast empire extended along the coast of South America covering approximately 3000 miles (NC Civic Education Consortium, n.d.).
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and north-central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. (Crystalinks, n.d.)
The early settlers of South America were important civilizations that ruled the land. Civilizations like Nazca, Huari and Tihuanaco formed their cultures throughout
South America, until overthrown by the Incas (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). As other civilizations in America The Incas built their empire gathering the more important cultural aspects of the civilizations before them (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). This enriched their culture and gave strength to the empire as it expanded through South America.
Although the Inca civilization endured little in time, its significance to South
American cultures, and specially Andean countries is huge. This civilization is ought to be remembered in history as one of the imposing cultures of America because of their
Inca culture 4 political and social structure, also for their impressive architecture and their agricultural
systems.
“The empire consisted of more than ten million inhabitants and had, at the time, a very unique political and economic system” (Harris, n.d.). The vast Incan empire had many people living under its territory so it had to have a very systematic political and social structure in order to maintain stability. The Incas “organizational ability captivated the interest of later Spanish conquerors almost as much as did their gold. Indeed, so effective as rulers were the Inca that some of their ideas and practice survive today in the countries their empire once encompassed” (Expansion of the Inca Empire).
As an agricultural society the Inca communities were structured around this activity.
Harris (n.d.) cites Bakewell in this matter: “the basic unit of society, apart from the family, was the ayllu, […]”. The ayllu, was a social structure, bigger than the family, characterized by the tasks it enclosed. “These tasks included building irrigation canals or cutting agricultural terraces into steep hillsides. The ayllu also stored food and other supplies to distribute among members during hard times” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). …show more content…
The ayllu covered landholding, animals and crafting good activities. But the special characteristic of the ayllu was that every member helped each other. “It was a custom in the Incan society for people to help others in the community who were in need” (Harris,
n.d.).
Inca culture 5 The Incas, also divided its society in a labor structure. People, especially males, were divided in groups organized to work in the empire. “The males were organized into groups based on age and ability to work” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). The reason for this was because of the capability these males had to provide for their families and the ayllus.
The citizens of the empire were expected to pay tribute to the state, especially in form of labor (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). “The labor tribute was known as mita” (Mr. McEntarfer 's
, n.d.).
The structure of the Inca society was divided into hierarchies. The chain of hierarchy started with the Sapa Inca and it decreased to regional and community levels of command. “Society consisted of a top down caste and class system in which people at the top did have a preferential treatment, but social mobility was a possibility in the Empire”
(Harris, n.d.). This society, nowadays, for its social structure has been compared to a modern socialist political system (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). This comparison was due to the social compromise that every inhabitant had with the government and with others in the empire. “Citizens were expected to work for the state and were cared for in return”
(Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.).
One of the most important developments these people left to the world was their astonishing architecture. Incas were no only conquerors and impressive warriors, they were amazing architects and engineers who built a mountain empire in the most remote places in the world. The Inca architecture cannot be described in only one aspect; this
Inca culture 6 amazing human work should be recognized for its precision, functionality and austerity
(Rutahsa, n.d.).
Commonly, Incas used rectangular shaped forms to construct their buildings.
“The most commonly used unit of architecture is the rectangular building; all settlements used this type, whether it was for residential housing, administrative purposes, or religious activities” (Pigeon, 2011). This does not mean the Incas did not use other type of buildings. Circular buildings denoted special constructions to more prestigious members in society.
But the most impressive detail of Inca architecture is its simplicity. The Incas constructed their buildings in the most basic geometric forms, and despite of this, they were and still are breathtaking. “The dominant stylistic form in Inka architecture is a simple, but elegant proportioned trapezoid, which serves the dual ends of functionality and severely restrained decoration” (Rutahsa, n.d.).
The Incas were incredible architects who are now mostly recognized because of the stone building ability. It is important to denote that the Incas did not have advanced technology, and although it is still unknown how the Incas accomplished such complex but simple buildings without proper tools, their knowledge in architecture and engineering for the time was really advanced. Another important fact about Inca architecture is the supply of stone material to construct their buildings. “[…], the ‘local’ supply might be several kilometers distant and involve a transportation problem that
Inca culture 7 would have daunted a less capable people” (Rutahsa, n.d.). People have to travel several miles with huge rocks, without wheel to help them, and climb mountains in order to get material to the construction site.
The Inca stonework could be named as perfect. When you see one of those impressive structures, you can note that every single stone is carved to fit perfectly with its neighbor without the use of any material such as concrete to paste them together.
Especially in Cuzco you can note in plain sight the enormous difference between precolonial Incan buildings with Spanish buildings. The fit of the stone in the first are impeccable. In Cuzco, people denote this fact by telling tourist that the “perfect” buildings were built by the Incas and the other ones were built by the “Inca-pables” (the
Spanish).
Incas also had many projects within the empire. The most important, was the building of a communication system. “The most spectacular project was the Incan road system” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). The Incan roads covered all the empire with an estimated extension of 14,000 miles (Cardenas, 2013). The most impressive aspect of these roads was the fact that they were built along huge mountains, in deadly passages, and uncertain terrain.
As noted before, the Incas were agricultural people.
In this field they developed many improvements and introduced new concepts unknown for the time. The first concept was the use of agricultural terraces. These terraces had two main purposes, first
Inca culture 8 they provided farmers and land workers a flat terrain to cultivate their crops and secondly they helped protect cities from erosions (Contrabutions, n.d..). In these terraces, they developed a microclimate form of cultivation. The Incas experimented with these terraces to develop better crops. In the terraces the climate was colder at the bottom and warmer at the top, so different product could be cultivated in the same place (Contrabutions,
n.d..).
In conclusion, Incas were one of the most impressive culture and empires built in
America. They had amazing capabilities to conquer and expand through the land, but also it is remarkable the way they managed their political and social structure. Also, as the core of their society, agriculture was one of the main activities they developed, setting a stage for investigation in the field because of their advanced development of this activity.
Furthermore, one of the most impressive gifts Incas left to the world was their
perfect architecture and the incognito of how did they accomplished this without technology.
Inca culture 9
Works Cited
Cardenas, R. (2013, march). Inca Empire Significance. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from
Study Mode: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Inca-Empire-Significance1544893.html
Contrabutions. (n.d..). Contributions of the Incan civilization. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Contrabutions: http://contrabutions.wikispaces.com/Contributions+of+the+Inca Crystalinks. (n.d.). Inca Civilization. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Crystalinks: http://www.crystalinks.com/incan.html Expansion of the Inca Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Mr. Mitchell 's social studies class: http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory/AncientAmericas/PDFs/expansion inca/ExpansionofIncaEmpireNotes.pdf
Harris, K. (n.d.). Was the Inca Empire a socialist state? A historical discussion .
Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Eastern Illinois University: http://castle.eiu.edu/~historia/archives/2007/Harris.pdf NC Civic Education Consortium. (n.d.). Incan Times. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from NC
Civic Education Consortium: http://civics.sites.unc.edu/files/2012/05/IncanTimes.pdf Mr. McEntarfer 's . (n.d.). The Inca create a mountain empire. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Mr. McEntarfer 's Global History Page: http://jmcentarfer.tripod.com/ch16_4.pdf Inca culture 10 Pigeon, G. (2011). Inca architecture: the function of a building in relation to its form.
Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Minds @ UW: https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/64628/Pigeon_Ginger_Thesis. pdf?sequence=1.
Pratt, N. (n.d.). The Inca Empire of Tawantinsuyu. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from The
Incas of Peru: http://www.incaempire.org.uk/empire.PDF
Rutahsa. (n.d.). Inka architecture, less in more -- much more. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Ruthasa: http://www.rutahsa.com/incaarch.html
The Inca culture
Samir Ahmed Vallejo
Prof. Carmen Anhalzer
HIS 0331E
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
9 June 2014
Inca culture 2 Abstract
This paper is a research on Inca civilization, especially denoting the most important characteristics that people should know about this people. The Incas had the biggest empire known in America and they had an incredible ability to manage and merge culture to their social structure. Also, they were expert engineers and architects, because at the time they did not had sufficient technology but still they accomplished to built amazing buildings. At the most, the Incas developed agriculture as their main activity and they achieved many breakthroughs …show more content…
in the field.
Key words: Incas, empire, architecture, agriculture, social and political structure.
Inca culture 3 Before the Spanish conquest, throughout America there were many civilizations that thrived in its lands and are remembered because of their cultural influence to the world. But without a doubt, the largest empire that America had was the Inca Empire. In its time, the empire was called Tawantinsuyu by the Incas, which meant “the Land of the
Four Quarters” (Pratt, n.d.). This vast empire extended along the coast of South America covering approximately 3000 miles (NC Civic Education Consortium, n.d.).
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and north-central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. (Crystalinks, n.d.)
The early settlers of South America were important civilizations that ruled the land. Civilizations like Nazca, Huari and Tihuanaco formed their cultures throughout
South America, until overthrown by the Incas (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). As other civilizations in America The Incas built their empire gathering the more important cultural aspects of the civilizations before them (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). This enriched their culture and gave strength to the empire as it expanded through South America.
Although the Inca civilization endured little in time, its significance to South
American cultures, and specially Andean countries is huge. This civilization is ought to be remembered in history as one of the imposing cultures of America because of their
Inca culture 4 political and social structure, also for their impressive architecture and their agricultural
systems.
“The empire consisted of more than ten million inhabitants and had, at the time, a very unique political and economic system” (Harris, n.d.). The vast Incan empire had many people living under its territory so it had to have a very systematic political and social structure in order to maintain stability. The Incas “organizational ability captivated the interest of later Spanish conquerors almost as much as did their gold. Indeed, so effective as rulers were the Inca that some of their ideas and practice survive today in the countries their empire once encompassed” (Expansion of the Inca Empire).
As an agricultural society the Inca communities were structured around this activity.
Harris (n.d.) cites Bakewell in this matter: “the basic unit of society, apart from the family, was the ayllu, […]”. The ayllu, was a social structure, bigger than the family, characterized by the tasks it enclosed. “These tasks included building irrigation canals or cutting agricultural terraces into steep hillsides. The ayllu also stored food and other supplies to distribute among members during hard times” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). …show more content…
The ayllu covered landholding, animals and crafting good activities. But the special characteristic of the ayllu was that every member helped each other. “It was a custom in the Incan society for people to help others in the community who were in need” (Harris,
n.d.).
Inca culture 5 The Incas, also divided its society in a labor structure. People, especially males, were divided in groups organized to work in the empire. “The males were organized into groups based on age and ability to work” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). The reason for this was because of the capability these males had to provide for their families and the ayllus.
The citizens of the empire were expected to pay tribute to the state, especially in form of labor (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). “The labor tribute was known as mita” (Mr. McEntarfer 's
, n.d.).
The structure of the Inca society was divided into hierarchies. The chain of hierarchy started with the Sapa Inca and it decreased to regional and community levels of command. “Society consisted of a top down caste and class system in which people at the top did have a preferential treatment, but social mobility was a possibility in the Empire”
(Harris, n.d.). This society, nowadays, for its social structure has been compared to a modern socialist political system (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). This comparison was due to the social compromise that every inhabitant had with the government and with others in the empire. “Citizens were expected to work for the state and were cared for in return”
(Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.).
One of the most important developments these people left to the world was their astonishing architecture. Incas were no only conquerors and impressive warriors, they were amazing architects and engineers who built a mountain empire in the most remote places in the world. The Inca architecture cannot be described in only one aspect; this
Inca culture 6 amazing human work should be recognized for its precision, functionality and austerity
(Rutahsa, n.d.).
Commonly, Incas used rectangular shaped forms to construct their buildings.
“The most commonly used unit of architecture is the rectangular building; all settlements used this type, whether it was for residential housing, administrative purposes, or religious activities” (Pigeon, 2011). This does not mean the Incas did not use other type of buildings. Circular buildings denoted special constructions to more prestigious members in society.
But the most impressive detail of Inca architecture is its simplicity. The Incas constructed their buildings in the most basic geometric forms, and despite of this, they were and still are breathtaking. “The dominant stylistic form in Inka architecture is a simple, but elegant proportioned trapezoid, which serves the dual ends of functionality and severely restrained decoration” (Rutahsa, n.d.).
The Incas were incredible architects who are now mostly recognized because of the stone building ability. It is important to denote that the Incas did not have advanced technology, and although it is still unknown how the Incas accomplished such complex but simple buildings without proper tools, their knowledge in architecture and engineering for the time was really advanced. Another important fact about Inca architecture is the supply of stone material to construct their buildings. “[…], the ‘local’ supply might be several kilometers distant and involve a transportation problem that
Inca culture 7 would have daunted a less capable people” (Rutahsa, n.d.). People have to travel several miles with huge rocks, without wheel to help them, and climb mountains in order to get material to the construction site.
The Inca stonework could be named as perfect. When you see one of those impressive structures, you can note that every single stone is carved to fit perfectly with its neighbor without the use of any material such as concrete to paste them together.
Especially in Cuzco you can note in plain sight the enormous difference between precolonial Incan buildings with Spanish buildings. The fit of the stone in the first are impeccable. In Cuzco, people denote this fact by telling tourist that the “perfect” buildings were built by the Incas and the other ones were built by the “Inca-pables” (the
Spanish).
Incas also had many projects within the empire. The most important, was the building of a communication system. “The most spectacular project was the Incan road system” (Mr. McEntarfer 's , n.d.). The Incan roads covered all the empire with an estimated extension of 14,000 miles (Cardenas, 2013). The most impressive aspect of these roads was the fact that they were built along huge mountains, in deadly passages, and uncertain terrain.
As noted before, the Incas were agricultural people.
In this field they developed many improvements and introduced new concepts unknown for the time. The first concept was the use of agricultural terraces. These terraces had two main purposes, first
Inca culture 8 they provided farmers and land workers a flat terrain to cultivate their crops and secondly they helped protect cities from erosions (Contrabutions, n.d..). In these terraces, they developed a microclimate form of cultivation. The Incas experimented with these terraces to develop better crops. In the terraces the climate was colder at the bottom and warmer at the top, so different product could be cultivated in the same place (Contrabutions,
n.d..).
In conclusion, Incas were one of the most impressive culture and empires built in
America. They had amazing capabilities to conquer and expand through the land, but also it is remarkable the way they managed their political and social structure. Also, as the core of their society, agriculture was one of the main activities they developed, setting a stage for investigation in the field because of their advanced development of this activity.
Furthermore, one of the most impressive gifts Incas left to the world was their
perfect architecture and the incognito of how did they accomplished this without technology.
Inca culture 9
Works Cited
Cardenas, R. (2013, march). Inca Empire Significance. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from
Study Mode: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Inca-Empire-Significance1544893.html
Contrabutions. (n.d..). Contributions of the Incan civilization. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Contrabutions: http://contrabutions.wikispaces.com/Contributions+of+the+Inca Crystalinks. (n.d.). Inca Civilization. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Crystalinks: http://www.crystalinks.com/incan.html Expansion of the Inca Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Mr. Mitchell 's social studies class: http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory/AncientAmericas/PDFs/expansion inca/ExpansionofIncaEmpireNotes.pdf
Harris, K. (n.d.). Was the Inca Empire a socialist state? A historical discussion .
Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Eastern Illinois University: http://castle.eiu.edu/~historia/archives/2007/Harris.pdf NC Civic Education Consortium. (n.d.). Incan Times. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from NC
Civic Education Consortium: http://civics.sites.unc.edu/files/2012/05/IncanTimes.pdf Mr. McEntarfer 's . (n.d.). The Inca create a mountain empire. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from Mr. McEntarfer 's Global History Page: http://jmcentarfer.tripod.com/ch16_4.pdf Inca culture 10 Pigeon, G. (2011). Inca architecture: the function of a building in relation to its form.
Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Minds @ UW: https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/64628/Pigeon_Ginger_Thesis. pdf?sequence=1.
Pratt, N. (n.d.). The Inca Empire of Tawantinsuyu. Retrieved june 6, 2014, from The
Incas of Peru: http://www.incaempire.org.uk/empire.PDF
Rutahsa. (n.d.). Inka architecture, less in more -- much more. Retrieved june 8, 2014, from Ruthasa: http://www.rutahsa.com/incaarch.html