ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What were some achievements of South Americas
  early cultures?
• 2. What were some features of Inca culture?

2
Early Cultures of South America

• 12,500 B.C earliest date
• that people may have lived
• in western South America
• Planted beans and potatoes on terraces cut into
  steep Andes mountainsides
• People who lived along Pacific Ocean fished
• Domesticated animals llama, alpaca wool used
  to weave cloth

3
Early Cultures of South America

• Chavin (chuh-veen) Civilization
• Perus first advanced civilization
• Reached height between 900 B.C. and 200 B.C.
• Built town of large stone structures in Andean
  valley
• Decorated temples with carved jaguars,
  crocodiles, and snakes

4
Early Cultures of South America

• Moche (MOH-chay) Civilization
• Lived along the Pacific coast
• Developed irrigation system dug canals
• Built tall pyramids

5
Early Cultures of South America

• Nazca Civilization
• Scratched outlines of animals and other shapes
  into surface of Peruvian desert called Nazca
  lines today
• Large designs can be seen clearly only from the
  air

6
The Inca
7
INCA EMPIRE

• 1438 A.D. - Inca Empire began
• Pachacutec (pah-chah-KOO-tek) defeated invaders
  who had attacked and destroyed the city of Cuzco.
  After this great victory, Pachacutec rebuilt the
  city.
• Early 1500s empire well established
• Included about 12 million people
• Included an area reaching from what is now
  southern Colombia to central Chile
• Quechua (KE-chuh-wuh) language of the Inca
  still spoken by some people

8
INCA EMPIRE

• Religion
• Pachacutec became emperor and
• was referred to as the Inca
• He was worshipped as a god.
• The Inca had many other gods
• Viracocha supreme godcreated Sun and Moon
• Emperor known as Son of the Sun led worship of
  Sun
• Inca queen known as daughter of the Moonled
  worship of the Moon

9
Incan Conquests

• Conquered
• villages
• throughout the
• Andes region

10
Incan Conquests

• The Incas conquered villages throughout
• Andes Region
• Had own land, chief, customs, descended from
  common ancestors
• Had families who worked together dug irrigation
  canals, planted, and harvested together
• Had farmers-worlds first potato growers also
  grew corn, sweet potatoes, and cassava
• Had Chief-resolved conflicts distributed land
  and water to each family
• Had Sacred places and sacred objects

11
Government

• Conquered villages organized
• into groups
• Imperial officer- headed each group
• Taxes paid to officer by each family in empire

12
Results of Incan Conquests

• Learned skills from conquered peoples
• Worked in creative arts

13
Empire connected by thousands of miles of
stone-paved roads.

• Crossed mountains, tropical rains forests, and
  deserts
• Rope bridges over valleys and rivers
• Teams of runners to carry messages across empire
• Information recorded on quipu (KEE-poo) Quipus
  sets of colored strings with knots

14
CIVIL WAR

• About 1500 A.D. Inca Empire began
• to suffer
• In 1525, Pachacutecs grandson Inca Emperor
  Huayna Capac died. His two sons Huascar and
  Atahualpa fought over who would become emperor.
  Huascar won. Huascar upset nobility and turned
  to his brother.
• Civil War broke out successful revolt led by
  Atahualpa
• Atahualpa became emperor