Compare and contrast your life and the life of the Incas according to the graphic organizer on slide 3. How are they alike? (7 sentences) How are they different? (7
sentences).

Successive generations of Incan rulers worked to expand Incan territory through war and conquest. At its height, the Inca Empire stretched more than 2,000 miles along the west coast of South America and governed millions of people. The farthest reaches of the empire
10 were connected with well-constructed roads and strong rope bridges. An elaborate system of relay runners enabled messages to be carried 250 miles a day; runners made the 1,250-mile journey from Quito (a city in the far north) to Cuzco in just five days.
Incan society was hierarchical and highly centralized, with the god- like emperor at the top of the social pyramid, followed by provincial governors, local rulers and leaders, and finally the common people.
The common people paid taxes and tributes and worked for the central government. The Inca did not have a writing system, but they were able to keep track of trade goods and stockpiles with a special system of
20 knotted strings called a quipu. Religion was an important part of life.
1. Analyze
2. Practice
3. Perform
60
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NOTES
Economy
The Inca were farmers, growing potatoes as well as other crops, often in terraces cut into the high mountainsides. They had llamas to carry loads, for wool, and for meat. They were also skilled craftsmen, building impressive cities of stone, weaving exquisite woolen cloth, and making pottery, jewelry, and many other useful and ornamental objects