Inka

South Americaintensive agriculturalists

Map
expand_more Description

The original Inka homeland was the Cuzco valley of south-central Peru, but the Inka Empire eventually extended along the Andes from Columbia near the Ecuador border in the north to northern Argentina and Chile in the south and along the coast of Peru and northern Chile. The Inka rulers, also called the Inka, managed and integrated myriad multiethnic groups partly by imposing a state religion and partly by requiring their language (a Quechuan language) to be spoken by the conquered population. However, the rulers allowed the native religions and languages to continue. The state was supported by "mita" labor, a form of taxation. Agriculture, especially of maize, potatoes, and cotton, accounted for the economic base. The Inka are known for their Megalithic architecture and fine-cut stone masonry. The Inka collection focuses on the period 1200-1600.

Identifier
Region
  • South America
Subregion
  • Central Andes
Subsistence Type
  • intensive agriculturalists
Samples
Countries
  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Chile
  • Ecuador
  • Peru
External Links