The Incas

The Inca built their civilization in the Andes mountains.

The Andes are a mountain range along the western edge of South America.

This area is a hard place to live.

The slopes are rocky and steep and the climate is cold.

Breathing is difficult because the air is thin at the high elevations.

The Incas adapted to these harsh conditions

Andean peoples farmed land along rivers and they farmed the hillsides by cutting terraces.

Terraces were strips of level land that are planted with crops

Irrigation canals carried water to these terraces.

The people were able to grow corn, chili peppers, squash, beans, cotton, peanuts, and potatoes.

Andean people also raised llamas and alpacas

The Incas built an empire in the 1400's and 1500's by taking over lands of other people.

They settled in present day Peru in the early 1200's.

Over the next 300 years they built a large empire led by Sapa Incas (warrior kings)

A strong army helped the Incas expand.

The kings offered peace and protection to those who agreed to join their empire

The Incan government took care of their people.

In a time of need, the government officials would distribute food and clothing.

These benefits did come at a price, however. The Incan people had little freedoms.

The Inca's forced their language on all the people. This unified their empire

This language was only spoken, they did not have a written language