Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, which called itself Tawantinsuyu, meaning "the four parts united," was the largest empire in the Americas before Columbus. Its center of administration, politics, and military power was the city of Cusco. The Inca civilization began in the highlands of Peru around the early 1200s. The first European to reach the empire was the Portuguese explorer Aleixo Garcia in 1524. The Spanish started their conquest in 1532, and by 1572 the last Inca state had fallen.

From 1438 to 1533, the Incas expanded across a large part of western South America, focusing on the Andes. They used both conquest and peaceful assimilation. At its peak, the empire covered what is now Peru, western Ecuador, western and south-central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, the southwestern tip of Colombia, and much of modern Chile. This made it comparable to the great empires of Eurasia. The official language was Quechua.

The Inca Empire was unusual because it lacked many features common to Old World civilizations. Anthropologist Gordon McEwan noted that the Incas built "one of the greatest imperial states in human history" without the wheel, draft animals, iron, steel, or a writing system. Its notable achievements included monumental stone architecture, a vast road network reaching all parts of the empire, finely woven textiles, knotted strings (khipu) for record-keeping and communication, innovative farming in a harsh environment, and a system of organization and labor management.

The empire operated largely without money or markets. Goods and services were exchanged through reciprocity between individuals, groups, and Inca rulers. Taxes took the form of labor obligations to the empire. The Inca rulers, who theoretically owned all means of production, gave back by granting access to land and goods, and by providing food and drink at celebratory feasts.

Many local religions continued, mostly centered on sacred huacas (wak'a). However, Inca leaders promoted the worship of Inti, the sun god, and placed it above other beliefs, such as that of Pachamama. The Sapa Inca, or king, was considered the "son of the Sun."

The Inca economy has been debated by scholars. Darrell E. La Lone, in *The Inca as a Nonmarket Economy*, wrote that it has been described as feudal, slave, socialist, a system of reciprocity and redistribution, one with markets and commerce, or an Asiatic mode of production.

**Etymology**

The Incas called their empire Tawantinsuyu, from the Quechua words *tawa* (four) and *-ntin* (a group), meaning a quartet of four parts. The four suyu (regions or provinces) met at the capital: Chinchaysuyu (north), Antisuyu (east, the Amazon jungle), Qullasuyu (south), and Kuntisuyu (west). The Spanish usually wrote it as Tahuatinsuyo.

The term *Inca* today translates as "ruler" or "lord" in Quechua, but it referred not only to the Sapa Inca but also to Inca nobles. Some think its meaning was broader. Inca nobles were a small part of the population—likely only 15,000 to 40,000 people—ruling about 10 million subjects.

When the Spanish arrived, they called the land Peru, while the natives knew it as Tawantinsuyu. The name "Inca Empire" comes from 16th-century chronicles.

**History**

**Antecedents**

The Inca Empire was the final stage of thousands of years of Andean civilizations, one of at least five "pristine" civilizations—those that developed independently without outside influence.

Two large empires preceded the Incas in the Andes: the Tiwanaku (based near Lake Titicaca) and the Wari or Huari (centered near Ayacucho). Both ended around 1100 AD. The Wari occupied the Cuzco area for about 400 years. Many Inca characteristics came from these earlier multi-ethnic cultures. Those earlier civilizations may be credited with some Inca accomplishments: thousands of kilometers of roads, large administrative centers with stone construction, terraced mountainsides, filled valleys, and production of vast quantities of goods.

Carl Troll argued that the Inca state's development in the central Andes was helped by conditions that allowed the production of chuño, a dried potato that can be stored for long periods. Chuño is made by freezing potatoes at night in the southern highlands. This link has been questioned, since other crops like maize can be dried with sunlight alone.

Troll also noted that llamas, the Incas' pack animals, were most abundant in the same region. The empire's maximum extent roughly matched the range of llamas and alpacas, the only large domesticated animals in Pre-Hispanic America. As a third point, Troll pointed out that...