The Incas: The Great Empire of the "Four Ends of the World"
When we hear the concepts of "Inca", "Maya" or "Aztec", we are mentally transported across the ocean, to the mountains and jungles of the American continent. It was there that these tribes of Indians, little known to mankind - the creators of the civilization of the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans, lived, briefly about which we will talk further. From history we only know that they were skilled craftsmen. The Incas built big cities, connected by such roads, as if cars were racing along them. The pyramids were built like the Egyptian ones, but according to local religious beliefs. Irrigation channels made it possible to feed the people with their own agricultural products.
The Incas created calendars, chronology and writing, had an observatory and were well guided by the stars. And suddenly, overnight, all civilizations disappeared. Above the clue about the reasons for the rather strange, even from the positions modern science, socio-demographic phenomenon are the work of many scientists. Let us first present the Inca civilization in a brief description.
ancient incas
If we consider geographical map South American mainland, its vertical division by the Andes mountains will be striking. To the east of the mountains extends Pacific Ocean. This area, closer to the north, in the 11th - 15th centuries was chosen by the most ancient Indian tribe of the Incas - in their language it is pronounced as "Quechua". In such a short period, in terms of a known scale, it is difficult to create a unique and one of the early class civilizations of Mesoamerica. The Incas succeeded in this, perhaps with some outside help.
It stretched for five thousand kilometers from north to south - this is exactly half the length of the Russian Federation. It included territories, in whole or in part, of eight modern Latin American countries. These regions were inhabited by about twenty million people.
Archaeologists say that the Quechua culture did not start from scratch. It is proved that a significant part either came to the Quechua from outside, or they settled in a foreign territory and appropriated the achievements of previous civilizations.
The Incas were good warriors and did not disdain the capture of new territories. From the culture of Mochica and the state of Kari, they could adopt the technology of making colored ceramics, laying canals in the fields, from Nazca - the construction of underground water pipes. The list goes on.
What the Quechua themselves have succeeded in is in stone-cutting. Blocks for buildings were hewn so finely that no bonding material was required when laying them. The pinnacle of architecture is a group of temples under common name Golden courtyard with the temple of the sun god. The supreme rulers of Quechua simply adored gold; the palaces of the emperor were covered with it from floor to ceiling. All this luxury was melted down by the Spanish conquistadors and transported home in ingots. Only the majestic pyramids on the lifeless earth remind of the former greatness.
ancient maya
The Mayan tribe had everything that characterized the ancient civilizations, except for the wheel and metal tools. Tools were made of high quality from strong stone, even for sawing wood.
The Maya skillfully erected buildings using arched ceilings that were rare for those times, and knowledge of geometry helped to correctly lay irrigation canals. They were the first to know how to get cement. Their surgeons performed operations with a scalpel made of frozen glass.
Like the Incas (Quechua), the Maya had great knowledge of the cosmos and the stars. But it is unlikely that any of them could own spacecraft. But then why did they need a domed observatory tower that has survived to this day? The building stands so that it is better to navigate the orbit of the brightest planet. Just to create a calendar aimed at this planet? Obviously, there were other plans. No wonder there are mysterious images of flying people on the rocks.
There is also such a version of the origin of the Maya: perhaps they sailed to America on ships from another continent. Like the Incas, the Maya used experience more advanced civilization- the Olmecs, who it is not clear where they came from the American continent. For example, their experience of making drinks from a substance similar to chocolate, and in religion adopted deities in the form of animals.
The Maya disappeared in the 10th century AD. And the Incas, and the Maya, and the Olmecs suffered the same fate - their civilizations ceased to exist in their prime. Running two versions of the death of the Maya - ecology and conquest. Artifacts of other tribes in the territory where the Maya lived testify in favor of the second.
ancient aztecs
Up to a dozen tribes lived on the fertile lands of the Mexican Valley for centuries. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Tepanek tribe appeared there. Warlike, impossibly cruel, it conquered all other tribes. Their allies in the seizure of territories were a small tribe of tenochki.
These were the Aztecs. This name was given to them by neighboring tribes. The Aztecs are driven out by other tribes to a deserted island. And from here the power of the Aztecs went to the entire valley of Mexico, where up to ten million people already lived. They traded with everyone who accepted them. Thousands of people lived in cities. The state has grown to unprecedented proportions.
This presentation describes the best masterpieces of Inca art. The purpose of the presentation is to talk about ancient people of the Incas, and their contribution to culture and art, to demonstrate handicrafts that have survived to this day.
The Inca people are an Indian tribe that inhabited South America before Christopher Columbus reached its shores. The presentation contains examples amazing architecture Incas, their very high and strong pyramids of stone. The places of accumulation of the Inca pyramids are indicated, among which the most famous are Mount Macho Piccho in Peru, the temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon. Photographs of Inca household items are also shown, these are numerous jewelry, silver dishes, clay pots.
It is worth highlighting the products of the Incas made of gold. Skillful golden masks are of the greatest interest. Other items made of gold are also presented. The Incas were skillfully able to make special holes in the human skull in order to wear jewelry, which implies that they were quite good surgeons.
Artistic culture of the Incas
Inca art gravitated towards rigor and beauty. Weaving from llama wool was distinguished by a high artistic level, although it was inferior in richness of decor to the fabrics of the peoples of the Costa. Widely practiced carving from the floor precious stones and shells, which the Incas received from the coastal peoples.
Architecture. In area material culture The Incas achieved the most impressive accomplishments in architecture. Although Inca architecture is inferior to Mayan in richness of decor and Aztec in emotional impact, it has no equal in that era either in the New or Old World in terms of boldness of engineering solutions, grandiose scales of urban planning, and skillful arrangement of volumes. Inca monuments, even in ruins, are amazing in their number and size. An idea of the high level of Inca urban planning is given by the Machu Picchu fortress, built at an altitude of 3000 m in a saddle between two peaks of the Andes. Inca architecture is characterized by extraordinary plasticity. The Incas erected buildings on the processed surfaces of rocks, fitting stone blocks together without lime mortar, so that the building was perceived as a natural element of the natural environment. In the absence of rocks, bricks baked in the sun were used.
Inca craftsmen were able to cut stones according to given patterns and work with huge stone blocks. The fortress of Sascahuaman, which protected Cusco, is undoubtedly one of the greatest creations of fortification art. 460 m long, the fortress consists of three tiers of stone walls overall height 18 m. The walls have 46 ledges, corners and buttresses. In the cyclopean masonry of the foundation, there are stones weighing more than 30 tons with beveled edges. It took at least 300,000 stone blocks to build the fortress. All the stones are irregularly shaped, but fitted together so tightly that the walls have withstood countless earthquakes and deliberate attempts at destruction. The fortress has towers, underground passages, living quarters and an internal water supply system. The Incas began building in 1438 and finished 70 years later, in 1508. According to some estimates, 30 thousand people were involved in the construction.
The Incas are one of the Indian tribes that lived in South America before Christopher Columbus discovered it. Examples of the masterpiece and amazing architecture of the Incas are shown, who could build pyramids of stone, very high and strong. The places of the largest accumulation of pyramids, such as the Temple of the Sun, Mount Macho Piccho in Peru, are highlighted. Items used by the ancient Incas in everyday life are shown. These are numerous clay pots, silverware, and jewelry.
It is worth noting the products of the Incas made of gold. Most Interest are elaborate golden masks. Other items made of Inca gold are also shown. It is noted that these people were good surgeons and knew how to make special holes in the skull for wearing jewelry.
Presentation added beautiful photos those places and household items of the Incas that have survived to this day thanks to the efforts of archaeologists.
Inca Golden Lama
Gold was revered by the Incas not only for its alleged connection with the Sun, but also for its apparent immutability: unlike silver and copper, gold is not stained and does not rot like the food and textile industries. The monopoly over the use and distribution of gold was one of the manifestations of the power of the Incas, and was based on the idea that gold was a representation of the Sun on Earth. Therefore, the emperor, even after his death, was put into the grave of gold items, among which there are lamas like the one shown in the illustration. For the Incas, the llama is a symbol of wealth, because the llama provided everything necessary for life, therefore, it was also considered to be in demand even after death.
Tiny figures of llamas were made, as a rule, from forged gold sheets, to which certain parts of the body were attached by soldering: ears, tail, etc. Gold, unlike silver and copper, was rarely mined, and was usually obtained by panning river sand or by looting the cemeteries and graves of neighboring tribes. For the Incas, only their own dead deserved respect.
Inca goldsmiths used the same methods of smelting and working gold as their predecessors, but still did not reach the same heights as their predecessors.
Sacred Valley of the Incas
The Sacred Valley of the Incas is located in the Andes, near the capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco, and the ancient city of Machu Picchu. In colonial documents, it is called the Yukai Valley.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas includes the territories located between the Colca Canyon, the cities of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Thanks to its climate and geographical features the valley was highly valued by the Incas, who created agricultural terraces here. Cereals, potatoes, coca, vegetables and fruits were grown here.
Now in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, all conditions have been created for active rest: hiking, mountain biking, rafting and hang gliding.
Sources: pwpt.ru, otvet.mail.ru, prezentacii.com, zen-designer.ru, www.mits.ru
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Pre-Inca period Inca culture was formed relatively late. Long before the appearance of the Incas on the historical scene, back in the 3rd millennium BC, settled tribes lived on the coast, who were engaged in the manufacture of cotton fabrics and grew maize, pumpkins and beans. The oldest of the great Andean cultures is the Chavin culture (12th-8th centuries BC - 4th century AD). Its center, the city of Chavin de Huantar, located in Central Andes, retained its significance even in the Inca era. Later, other cultures developed along the north coast, among which the early class state of Mochica (ca. 1st century BC - 8th century AD) stands out, creating magnificent works of architecture, ceramics and weaving.
On south coast the mysterious Paracas culture flourished (c. 4th century BC - 4th century AD), famous for its fabrics, undoubtedly the most skillful in all pre-Columbian America. Paracas influenced the early Nazca culture, which developed further south in five oasis valleys. In the basin of Lake Titicaca, approx. 8th c. the great Tiahuanaco culture was formed. The capital and ceremonial center of Tiahuanaco, located on the southeastern tip of the lake, are built from hewn stone slabs fastened with bronze spikes. The famous Gate of the Sun is carved from a huge stone monolith. In the upper part there is a wide bas-relief belt with images of the Sun God, who weeps in the form of condors and mythological creatures. The motif of the weeping deity can be traced in many Andean and coastal cultures, in particular in the Huari culture, which developed near the present Ayacucho.
Apparently, it was from Huari that religious and military expansion took place down the Pisco valley towards the coast. Judging by the spread of the weeping god motif, from the 10th to the 13th centuries. the state of Tiahuanaco subjugated most of the peoples of the Costa. After the collapse of the empire, local tribal associations, freed from external oppression, created their own state formations. The most significant of them was the state of Chimu-Chimor (14th century - 1463), which fought with the Incas, with its capital Chan Chan (near the present port of Trujillo). This city with huge stepped pyramids, irrigated gardens and stone-lined pools covered an area of 20.7 square meters. km. One of the centers of ceramic production and weaving has developed here. The state of Chimu, which extended its power along the 900-kilometer line of the Peruvian coast, had extensive network roads.
Thus, having in the past an ancient and high cultural tradition, the Incas were more likely the heirs than the founders of Peruvian culture.
The Inca Empire existed for a relatively short time from the beginning of the 15th century. until 1532, when the country was captured by the Spanish conquerors. The writing of the Incas is not fully deciphered. The capital was the city of Cusco, famous for its Golden Garden (perhaps the masters who created it were from the Chimu people).
The architecture is simple and unadorned. Temples, dwellings, fortresses are made of huge boulders (up to 350 tons in weight) very precisely fitted to each other, but not fastened with binding solutions (Saxahuaman fortress). The houses had powerful stone walls and cramped interior spaces. Most of the houses have no windows and are lit through the doors. According to the descriptions of travelers, the buildings were originally decorated with wide belts of thick gold plates. The use of precious metals not as money, but as a decorative material is typical of the Incas. For example, in the Temple of the Sun in the city of Cusco, several rooms are decorated with images of the Sun, Moon, rainbows and stars made of gold, silver and precious stones. Unlike Central America, the Incas built pyramids up to 40m high. not for temples, but for burials. Trapezoidal entrances and niches are characteristic features of Inca architecture.
Stone sculpture almost did not develop among the Incas.
The art of making and painting ceramics has been developed. It is conditionally divided into several periods. In the first period, scenes of battle, fishing, mythological scenes are depicted on the vessels. In the second period, the paintings practically disappear, but the vessels themselves turn into real sculpture. Most often, the vessels were made in the shape of a human head, sometimes conveying individual features. Later vessels appear in the form of animals, fruits and plants.
The main food of the Incas is potatoes (including canned ones), corn, and pumpkins. The Incas cultivated coca, a narcotic plant. In the empire, there was a clear division of the population into the elite and the bulk of the inhabitants. By law, the Inca (ruler of the empire) married his sister, who became his legal wife and, as a rule, the mother of the heir. In addition to the main wife, he had a harem and could live with any of the nuns of the monasteries, as he was the incarnation of the sun god on Earth. The heir was appointed during the life of the ruler by the rite of public hair cutting. The future heir helped his father and learned management. There were 10 age groups of the population, each of which had certain rights and obligations. Group 1: infants. Group 2: children under 2 years old. Group 3: children playing. Group 4: children 9-12 years old. Group 5: teenagers 12-18 years old. Group 6: 18-25 years old - serving in the army. Group 7: 25-50 years old - married and running a household. Group 8: 50-80 years old - old people. Group 9: 80 years and older - deaf old people. 10 group: sick.
There were no uprisings in the state. This social system provided old age security. It is therefore sometimes called "Indian socialism". There was no money in the empire, only barter in the market. Gold is used as decoration. The army is well trained and equipped (maces with stone or metal ends). There were excellent roads and a post office. The messengers ran from parking to parking for about two kilometers, as a result of the relay race, 2000 km were overcome in 3 days. The Incas composed poems that were later written down by the Jesuits. Quipu knot writing is widespread, on which you can count up to 1,000,000. Nobles studied at universities for 4 years, where she studied the Quechua language, solar religion, quipu knot writing, history and military affairs. The Incas wove dense fabrics with a density of 80x45 threads/cm (modern parachute fabric has a density of 60x30 threads/cm). They performed operations, including trepanation of the skull.
the last Inca name was Tupac Omaru.
Additional information.
The oldest cultures of Peru date back to the 3rd millennium BC.
Close to Lima there was a culture at that time, whose representatives did not know about the existence of metals, but erected clay and stone temples on artificial platforms. The Temple of the Crossed Hands is famous. Later, this gesture-sign is found in Colombia.
culture Chavin, associated with the cult of the Jaguar was widespread at the end of II - the middle of I thousand BC. BC.
culture Nazca(mid-2nd century BC) corresponds to the valleys of the Ica, Pisco and Nazca rivers. Here was found the "wooden Stonehenge of Peru" - the sanctuary of Escuqueria. It consists of hundreds of dried mesquite trunks. The center of the composition is a square formed by 12 rows of 12 columns each. Found gigantic images in the Nazca desert. The Pampa de Nasca Gallery is platforms, lines, spirals, human and animal "figuras" (geoglyphs). The head of a giant bird (length 120m) is directed to the point of sunrise on the day of the winter solstice. According to M. Stingl, the Indians buried the deceased with a triangular-shaped balloon. The deceased at sunset was placed in a wicker basket, balloon rose above the sea and disappeared over the horizon.
culture Mochica(I-VII centuries BC) left behind the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. In Pampa Grande. The Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 342×159 m. Gold items are unique. The legend of the existence of a golden garden has come down to us and eyewitness accounts of a room with five thousand golden butterflies, each of which weighed less than a gram and soared in the air with slight fluctuations in the air. Butterflies were melted down by the conquerors. As a result, they received 4 kg 700 g of pure gold. Around Lake Titicaca, many chulpas were found - burial towers of rectangular and cylindrical, expanded upwards.
According to legend, the founder of the Chimu culture sailed to Peru from the north with his detachment on rafts. His name is Naimlan. "Naym" means "bird" or "flight". Chimu built the city of Chan Chan with an area of 18 square meters. km. The city is surrounded by two rows of defensive walls and is divided into 10 quarters of 450x300 m. In many respects, the customs that prevailed in the state of Chimu differed little from those of the 25th century. Incas. In the 1460s Two cultures collided - the coastal culture of Chimu, worshiping the moon, and the mountain culture of the Incas, worshiping the Sun. The victory remained for the second. Clay reliefs depicting birds, fish, lizards, foxes, and ornaments have been preserved from the Chimu culture. Since ancient times, the supreme deity in Peru has been depicted framed by a snake arch, surrounded by predators. The arch symbolized the rainbow, the Milky Way, thunder, the firmament.
culture Olmec- one of the cultures ancient mexico. San Lorenzo - the capital of the Olmecs - was abandoned for unknown reasons in 900. The second capital of the "jaguar" Indians was La Venta. Huge stone heads found in La Venta.
Tribes Chol and Zelltal left in Palenque (Mexico) the famous ensemble, in which the tower of the palace, a 4-storey building, was also an observatory.
Interesting culture of the Toltecs. The Pyramid of the Morning Star in Tula (Tollan) has been preserved.
History of the Inca Empire
The Inca Empire is the largest of all the states that existed in ancient South America, which existed from the 11th to the 16th century AD. Its territory was very extensive - it occupied land from the modern Colombian city of Pasto to the Maule River in Chile. In general, it included the entire territory modern states Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, except for him eastern regions, overgrown with irresistible selva. It also included part of modern Chile, Argentina and Colombia. For the first time, Europeans came here after the ruin of the Aztec Tenochtitlan in Central America- Portuguese Alejo Garcia arrived here in 1525. The Inca Empire managed to hold out under the blows of the conquistadors, who became interested in new lands, until 1572, but already in 1533 the Inca power lost most of its territory. Today there is a hypothesis according to which the ancient Incas managed to hide in the undiscovered city of Paititi until the middle of the 18th century.
According to archaeologists, the Incas did not independently become one of the most developed (relatively) peoples in the Americas. Most of their achievements, the ancient Incas adopted from the former peoples, as well as from those peoples that they subjugated. Before the Incas established their control over a large part of South America, other civilizations took place on this continent. In particular, the Moche culture, which developed irrigation systems, Huari, which most resembled the emerging power of the Incas, the Chimu culture with unique architecture and many others.
Near Andean mountain range and on the coast adjacent to it in the period from the first millennium BC. before the first millennium AD relatively advanced civilizations appeared, the economic basis of which was agriculture. The history of the Inca state began in the 12th century AD. on the coast of Lake Titicaca, a people declared itself, the ruler of which was the Inca, who gave the name to his people. The Incas lived in the old place briefly, not for long. The supreme ruler decided to move his people to the city of Cusco, which marked the beginning of the history of the Incas and their expansion to the surrounding lands. By the 15-16th century, the Inca civilization had spread to a significant part of the territory of the present-day states of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and even reached modern Colombia.
The Inca leader Manco Capacu, thanks to whom the history of the Inca state began, built the city of Cusco at an altitude of more than 3.4 thousand meters above sea level. The city is spread out in a deep valley between two chains of mountain ranges. Under his rule, the territory of the state gradually increased. Subsequent chieftains began to bear the title of Inca as meaning king. Inca Yahuar Huakak organized in the empire something like a regular army, which, however, became the largest force in all of South America. However, the greatest conquests occurred during the reign of Inca Pachacuti, thanks to which the history of the Incas passed into the period of the empire.
However, in the 15th century, the Incas, in short, were not friendly with each other. After the reign of the eleventh Inca - Huayna Capac, two sons remained, who started a war among themselves, dividing the empire into two opposing camps. The war ended with Atahualpa's victory over Huascar, shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. 
Carrying out their conquests, the Incas equally effectively used both their army and politics - they persuaded the elite to cooperate in those places that were subject to conquest. At the same time, before the attack, the Incas sent several times to the rulers of certain lands a proposal to join the empire. The civilization of the Incas, spreading further and further across the continent, forced all conquered peoples to learn their language. Laws and customs were also imposed on the occupied territories. However, they did not prohibit local beliefs, provided that the conquered peoples would worship the supreme Inca deity - Inti. In addition, folk crafts were actively supported, each conquered people wore their own outfits. This was done so that the status and origin of any inhabitant of the Inca empire could be determined by clothing.
The Inca country was distinguished by a clear division of society into warriors and those who were not them. Only representatives of the ruling elite of the empire, or their proteges, who must necessarily belong to the Inca ethnic group, could lead the armies of the Incas. Interestingly, the Inca country was not completely monarchical - power in it belonged not only to the ruler of the Inca, but also to the governor capital city Cusco. According to the historian Juan de Betanzos, he was engaged in economic affairs in the empire, and provided the army with everything necessary.
Section 2 - Temple of the Incas
This short article will talk about ancient temple Inca civilization
Section 3 - City of the Incas
Although the center Inca Empire located in Cusco, popular culture Another Inca city became widespread - Machu Picchu
