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The Incas - Inca Empire

Expansion of Kindom of Cuzco under Tupac Inca

Inca Civilization

Inca, can be spelled Inka and was known as Tiwantinsuya. The origin of ancient Inca civilization is unknown. Their historic report, as with all other ancient civilization at that time, would be recorded trough oral tradition, stone, pottery, gold, silver jewelry and woven in the tapestry of the people. No one really knows where the ancient Incas came from in stone for archaeologists to unravel through the centuries that followed.

The Inca Empire flourished in the western coast of South America from ca 1438 AD when the Inca ruler Pachacuti and his army defeats the lands surrounding the Inca heartland of Cuzco, until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532.

The Incas have long held a mystical attraction for people of the western world. Four hundred years ago the fabulous wealth in gold and silver possessed by the Incas was discovered, then systematically pillaged and plundered by Spanish conquistadors. The treasure they carried home altered the whole European economic system. And in their wake, they left a highly developed civilization in tatters.

In 1438 the Inca set out their base in Cuzco on a career of conquest. And during the next 50 years, the Cuzco dynasty, known as the Incas, have control of an empire stretching from Quito in modern Ecuador to the Maule River in Chile – a distance of nearly 2500 miles. Within this area, the Inca established a totalitarian state that enabled the tribal ruler and a small minority of nobles to dominate the population.
Most of the accounts agree on thirteen emperors. The Inca emperors were known by various titles, including "Sapa Inca," "Capac Apu," and "Intip Cori." Often, an emperor was simply referred to as The Inca.

The first seven were legendary, local, and of slight importance. During this period the Inca were a small tribe, one of many, whose domain did not extend many miles around their capital city, Cuzco. They were warriors, almost constantly at war with neighboring tribes. Ritual sacrifices were common, evidence of which is found by archaeologists to this very day.

Cusco was the center of the Inca Empire, with its advanced hydraulic engineering, agricultural techniques, marvelous architecture, textiles, ceramics and ironworks.

Related:

• Mesoamerica
• Artifacts of North American Indian
• American Indian Metalwork
• Native American Tribes
• Native American Indian Jewelry