Changes

The Incas (the Quechua) (beginning in A.D. 1250, but especially 1438-1537)

The Incas (the Quechua) (beginning in A.D. 1250, but especially 1438-1537)

The Incas developed a massive empire in the Andes Mountains in South America, considered to be the largest civilization in all of the Americas.  Its beginnings were in the Moche civilization that thrived in South America in the first millennium, along the Andes mountain range.  Their culture was based on a system of “reciprocity”, whereby people traded favors and work in a cooperative manner, and on “verticality”, whereby people exploited the advantages of different altitudes in the mountains for jobs like growing different crops.

The Incas developed a massive empire in the [[Andes]] Mountains in South America, considered to be the largest civilization in all of the Americas.  Its beginnings were in the Moche civilization that thrived in South America in the first millennium, along the Andes mountain range.  Their culture was based on a system of “reciprocity”, whereby people traded favors and work in a cooperative manner, and on “verticality”, whereby people exploited the advantages of different altitudes in the mountains for jobs like growing different crops.

A ruler named Pachacuti (A.D. 1438-1471) conquered the surroundings of Lake Titicaca and then gained control of the coastal Chimu, which had been a power in the 900s, by cutting off its irrigation system.  He established an empire on the west side of South America that extended along the coast from nearly from the top (north) of South America to its bottom (south), including present-day Ecuador and Chile.  The empire also extended many miles inland, including the high regions of the mountains.  Included were 12 million people of many different ethnic backgrounds.  Loyalty was obtained by taking important hostages from conquered peoples, and also by settling reliable Quechua loyalists in each conquered area.  The capital was at Cuzco.

A ruler named Pachacuti (A.D. 1438-1471) conquered the surroundings of Lake Titicaca and then gained control of the coastal Chimu, which had been a power in the 900s, by cutting off its irrigation system.  He established an empire on the west side of South America that extended along the coast from nearly from the top (north) of South America to its bottom (south), including present-day Ecuador and Chile.  The empire also extended many miles inland, including the high regions of the mountains.  Included were 12 million people of many different ethnic backgrounds.  Loyalty was obtained by taking important hostages from conquered peoples, and also by settling reliable Quechua loyalists in each conquered area.  The capital was at Cuzco.