Skip to Main Content

Empires throughout History: Incan Empire

Reference

Perspectives

Daily Life in the Inca Empire

Explore daily living inside the Inca empire, the largest empire in the western hemisphere before European colonization. The Incas' subjugation of all types of cultures in western South America led to a wide variety of experiences, from military leaders to ruling class to conquered peoples. Readers will uncover all aspects of Inca culture, including politics and social hierarchy, the life cycle, agriculture, architecture, women's roles, dress and ornamentation, food and drink, festivals, religious rituals, the calendar, and the unique Inca form of taxation. Utilizing the best of current research and excavation, the second edition includes new material throughout as well as a new chapter on Machu Picchu, and a day in the life section focusing on an Inca family and a servant family in Machu Picchu. Concluding chapters discuss Inca contributions to modern society and the dangers of present destruction of archaeological sites. Engaging illustrations and photographs of Inca life, artifacts, and archaeological sites Sidebars that highlight new discoveries or primary source early Spanish accounts A Making Connections feature with suggestions for research topics A glossary of terms

Ancient Inca Technology

The Inca Empire was a complex, highly developed society that ruled ancient Peru for centuries. The civilization grew strong thanks to important advances in technology. This information-rich title covers the Inca's roads and communications systems, buildings, bridges, terrace farming, and tools. Readers will also learn about important scientific innovations such as calendars, Quipu, the Incas' understanding of astronomy, and their medicinal practices. Written with age-appropriate language and accompanied by colorful images, this title brings Inca technology to life.

The Shape of Inca History

Ina"The Shape of Inca History, "aSusan Niles considers the ways in which the Inca concept of history informed their narratives, rituals, and architecture. Using sixteenth-century chronicles of Inca culture, legal documents from the first generation of conquest, and field investigation of architectural remains, she strategically explores the interplay of oral and written histories with the architectural record and provides a new and exciting understanding of the lives of the royal families on the eve of conquest.Niles focuses on the life of Huayna Capac, the Inca king who ruled at the time of the first European incursions on the Andean coast. Because he died just a few years before the Spaniards overturned the Inca world, eyewitness accounts of his deeds as recorded by the invaders can be used to separate fact from propaganda. The rich documentary sources telling of his life include extraordinarily detailed legal records that inventory lands on his estate in the Yucay Valley. These sources provide a basisOCounique in the AndesOCofor reconstructing the social and physical plan of the estate and for dating its construction exactly.Huayna Capac's country palace shows a design different from that devised by his ancestors. Niles argues that the radical stylistic and technical innovations documented in the buildings themselves can be understood by referring to the turbulent political atmosphere prevalent at the time of his accession. Illustrated with numerous photographs and reconstruction drawings, a"The Shape of Inca History"abreaks new ground by proposing that Inca royal style was dynamic and that the design of an Inca building can best be interpreted by its historical context. In this way it is possible to recreate the development of Inca architectural style over time."

Voices from Vilcabamba

A rich new source of important archival information, Voices from Vilcabamba examines the fall of the Inca Empire in unprecedented detail. Containing English translations of seven major documents from the Vilcabamba era (1536-1572), this volume presents an overview of the major events that occurred in the Vilcabamba region of Peru during the final decades of Inca rule. Brian S. Bauer, Madeleine Halac-Higashimori, and Gabriel E. Cantarutti have translated and analyzed seven documents, most notably Description of Vilcabamba by Baltasar de Ocampo Conejeros and a selection from Martín de Murúa's General History of Peru, which focuses on the fall of Vilcabamba. Additional documents from a range of sources that include Augustinian investigations, battlefield reports, and critical eyewitness accounts are translated into English for the first time. With a critical introduction on the history of the region during the Spanish Conquest and introductions to each of the translated documents, the volume provides an enhanced narrative on the nature of European-American relations during this time of important cultural transformation.

The Inca—Gifts of the Empire

Spanish Contact—Pizarro Conquers the Inca

The Inca Origins—Mythology v. Archaeology

Learn More

The Inca—From Raiders to Empire