The history of ancient civilization - the Inca Empire in brief. Ancient Incas

Ancient Inca civilization

At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. The first empires arose on the Pacific coast and in the northern regions of the South American continent. The most significant of them was the Inca state. During its heyday, between 8 million and 15 million people lived here.

The term "Inca" denoted the title of the ruler of several tribes in the foothills of the Andes; this name was also borne by the Aymara, Huallacán, Quéuar and other tribes who lived in the Cuzco valley and spoke the Quechua language.

The Inca Empire occupied an area of ​​1 million square meters. km, its length from north to south exceeded 5 thousand km. The Inca state, divided into four provinces around the city of Cusco and located in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca, included the territory of modern Bolivia, northern Chile, part of modern Argentina, the northern part of the modern Republic of Peru and modern Ecuador.

The supreme power in the state belonged entirely to Sapa Inca - that was the official name of the emperor. Each Sapa Inca built his own palace, richly decorated according to his taste. The best artisan jewelers made for him a new golden throne, richly decorated with precious stones, most often emeralds. Gold in the Inca Empire was widely used in jewelry, but was not a means of payment. The Incas managed without money, since one of the main principles of their life was the principle of self-sufficiency. The entire empire was a huge subsistence economy.

Religion occupied an important place in the life of the Incas. Each population group, in each region had its own beliefs and cults. The most common form of religious ideas was totemism - the worship of a totem - an animal, plant, stone, water, etc. with whom believers considered themselves related. The lands of the communities were named after the deified animals. In addition, the cult of ancestors was widespread. The deceased ancestors, according to the Incas, were supposed to contribute to the ripening of crops, the fertility of animals and the well-being of people. Believing that the spirits of ancestors lived in caves, the Incas erected stone mounds near the caves, whose outlines resembled human figures. Associated with the cult of ancestors is the custom of mummifying the corpses of the dead. Mummies in elegant clothes, with jewelry, utensils, and food were buried in tombs carved into rocks. The mummies of rulers and priests were buried especially magnificently.

The Incas erected their buildings from various types of stone - limestone, basalt, diorite and raw brick. At home ordinary people had light roofs made of thatch and bundles of reeds; There were no stoves in the houses, and the smoke from the hearth came out directly through the thatched roof. Temples and palaces were built especially carefully. The stones from which the walls were made fit together so tightly that binders were not required when constructing buildings. In addition, the Incas built fortresses with numerous watchtowers on the mountain slopes. The most famous of them rose above the city of Cusco and consisted of three rows of walls 18 m high.

In their temples, the Incas worshiped a whole pantheon of gods, who had a strict chain of command. The highest of the gods was considered Kon Tiksi Viracocha - the creator of the world and the creator of all other gods. Among those gods whom Viracocha created were: the god Inti (golden Sun) - the legendary ancestor of the ruling dynasty; the god Ilyapa is the god of weather, thunder and lightning, to whom people turned with requests for rain, for Ilyapa could make the waters of the Heavenly River flow to the earth; Inti's wife, the goddess of the Moon, is Mama Kilja. The Morning Star (Venus) and many other stars and constellations were also revered. In the religious ideas of the ancient Aztecs, a special position was occupied by the extremely ancient cults of the earth mother - Mama Pacha and the sea mother - Mama Cochi.

The Incas had many religious and ritual festivals associated with the agricultural calendar and the life of the ruling family. All celebrations were held in the main square of Cusco - Huacapata (Sacred Terrace). Roads diverged from it, connecting the capital with four provinces of the state. By the time the Spaniards arrived, three palaces towered in Huacapata Square. Two of them were turned into sanctuaries. When an Inca ruler died, his body was embalmed and the mummy was left in his palace. From that time on, the palace became a sanctuary, and the new ruler built himself another palace.

The ensemble of temples of Qorikancha (Golden Court) is considered the highest achievement of Inca architecture. The main building of the ensemble was the temple of the Sun God - Inti, where
There was a golden image of God, decorated with large emeralds. This image was located in the western part, and it was illuminated by the first rays rising sun. The walls of the temple were entirely covered with gold sheets. The ceiling was covered with wood carvings, the floor was covered with carpets stitched with gold threads. The windows and doors were studded with precious stones. Several chapels adjoined the Temple of the Sun - in honor of thunder and lightning, the rainbow, the planet Venus, and the main one - in honor of the Moon (Mama Quilla). The image of the Moon in the Inca Empire is associated with the idea of ​​a woman, a goddess. Therefore, the chapel of Mama Killa was intended for the coyma - the wife of the Inca ruler, only she had access to this chapel. The mummies of the rulers' dead wives were also located here. In the Chapel of the Moon all the decorations were made of silver.

Various crafts among the Incas reached their highest peak. The Incas mastered mining quite early and mined copper and tin ore in mines to make bronze, from which axes, sickles, knives and other household utensils were cast. The Incas could smelt metal, knew the techniques of casting, forging, chasing, soldering and riveting, and also made products using the cloisonné enamel technique. Chroniclers reported that the Inca craftsmen made a golden ear of corn, in which the grains were golden, and the fibers surrounding the ear were made of the finest silver threads. The pinnacle of Inca jewelry was the image of the Sun God in the Temple of the Sun in Cusco in the form of a huge golden solar disk with a skillfully minted human face.

The gold wealth of the Incas reached its apogee during the reign of Huayna Capac. He's giving orders! cover the walls and roofs of their palaces and temples with sheet gold; There were many golden animal sculptures in the royal palace. During the ceremonies, 50 thousand. warriors were armed with golden weapons. A huge portable golden throne with a cape of precious feathers was placed in front of the residence palace.

All this was plundered by conquistadors from the expedition of Francisco Pissaro. The works of jewelry were melted down into ingots and sent to Spain. But much remains in hiding and has not yet been discovered.

According to researchers of Inca culture, their empire died largely because of religion. Firstly, the religion approved the ritual in which the ruler chose a successor from among his sons. This led to an internecine war between the brothers Huascar and Atahualpa, which significantly weakened the country before the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors led by Pizarro. Secondly, there was a legend among the Incas that in the future new people would rule the country, strangers who will conquer the empire and become its sole rulers. This explains the fear and hesitation of the Incas before the Spanish conquistadors.

Sociology

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Inca civilization

INCA CIVILIZATION , formed in the 16th century. in areas adjacent to the Pacific coast of South America (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, part of Argentina and Chile).
Initially, the word “Inca” meant the Indians who lived in the capital of Cusco and spoke the Quechua language. The Spaniards called all the peoples that were part of the Inca state that way. It was called Tauantinsuyu ("four cardinal directions") and consisted of 4 parts: Chinchasuyu (northwest), Kolyasuyu (south), Kuntisuyu (west) and Antisuyu (east). The parts were divided into provinces, and those into districts. Each unit was headed by a governor. The country was united by a network of roads.

Inca civilization. Golden mask. 13 - beginning 14th century

The history of the Incas is divided into 2 periods: legendary (12th century.

Inca Empire

1438) and the imperial period (1438-1533). Their official history is largely legendary and closely intertwined with myths. During the legendary era, 7 rulers changed: Manco Capac, Sinchi Roca, Lloque Yupanqui, Maita Capac, Capac Yupanqui, Inca Roca and Yahuar Huacac. The 8th ruler was Viracocha. His reign is a transitional period from legendary history to historical. Pachacutec, who ruled after Viracocha (from about 1438), subjugated neighboring communities and laid the foundation of a great empire.

Traditional Inca costume

Supreme power was inherited. The supreme ruler was the Sapa Inca. Close relatives, Incas by blood, were a serious political force. Community members in Tawantinsuyu united into clan groups - the foundation of the political system of the empire. Temple and palace servants, settler colonists, and artisans (coppersmiths, tanners, jewelers, potters, and priests who interpreted the knotted quipu script) were excluded from the communal system.
The basis of the economy was agriculture. Cattle breeding was developed in the highlands: llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos were bred. These animals were used as pack animals (for transporting goods), their meat was used for food, and fabrics were made from wool. Root crops were grown a little lower. Maize (corn) was sown in the fertile valleys. Due to the lack of fertile land in the valleys, terrace farming was carried out on the mountain slopes.

Craftsmen were skilled in cold processing of meteorite iron and made products from gold, lead, copper, and tin. Jewelry, figurines of people and animals were made from precious metals. Fabrics were considered the most valuable products; the Incas reached great heights in their production. Taxes were collected in kind. A third each went to the Sapa Inca (state), the gods and the producers themselves. Education depended on social status. Children of the nobility studied theology, history, mathematics, geography, engineering, and economics in special institutions. Children of community members learned from their parents and elders.

In the era of the empire, 3 gods of the sky were considered the main ones: the creator god of the Universe (Viracocha and others had many incarnations), the sun god Inti and the thunder god Ilyapa. The main female deity (Mama Kilja - the wife of the Sun god) was associated with the Moon. The ruling Inca was considered the embodiment of the Sun, and his wife the embodiment of the Moon. Ancestors were revered (the Incas worshiped their mummies, which were kept in special rooms).
In 1532, the Spaniards, led by F. Pizarro, invaded the territory of the Incas, occupied Cuzco in 1533 and soon, using the discontent of the Indian tribes conquered by the Incas, took possession of the entire empire. The Incas conquered by the Spaniards later joined the Quechua.

Inca civilization

Quechua, the language of the Incas, is very distantly related to the Aymara language spoken by the Indians who lived near Lake Titicaca. It is not known what language the Incas spoke before Pachacutec elevated Quechua to the rank of the state language in 1438.

Inca culture

Thanks to a policy of conquest and resettlement, Quechua spread throughout the empire, and is still spoken by the majority of Peruvian Indians to this day.

Agriculture.

Initially, the population of the Inca state consisted mostly of farmers who, if necessary, took up arms. Their daily life was governed by the agricultural cycle, and under the guidance of experts, they turned the empire into an important center for plant cultivation. More than half of all foods currently consumed in the world come from the Andes. Among them are over 20 varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potatoes, camote (sweet potatoes), zucchini and pumpkin, various varieties of beans, cassava (from which flour was made), peppers, ground nuts and quinoa (wild buckwheat). The most important agricultural crop of the Incas was the potato, which could withstand extreme cold and grow at altitudes of up to 4600 m above sea level. By alternately freezing and thawing potatoes, the Incas dehydrated them to such an extent that they turned them into a dry powder called “chuño.” . Corn (sara) was grown at altitudes up to 4100 m above sea level. and was consumed in various forms: cheese on the cob (choklo), dried and lightly fried (kolo), in the form of hominy (mote) and made into an alcoholic drink (saraiyaka, or chicha). To make the latter, women chewed corn kernels and spat the pulp into a vat, where the resulting mass, under the influence of salivary enzymes, fermented and released alcohol.

At that time, all Peruvian tribes were at approximately the same technological level. The work was carried out jointly. The main tool of the farmer's labor was the taklya , a primitive digging stick - a wooden stake with a burnt tip for strength.

There was arable land, but not in abundance. Rain in the Andes usually falls from December to May, but dry years are not uncommon. Therefore, the Incas irrigated the land using canals, many of which indicate a high level of engineering. To protect soils from erosion, terrace farming was used by pre-Inca tribes, and the Incas improved this technology.

The Andean peoples practiced predominantly sedentary agriculture and extremely rarely resorted to slash-and-burn agriculture, common among the Indians of Mexico and Central America, in which areas cleared of forest were sown for 1–2 years and abandoned as soon as the soil was depleted. This is explained by the fact that the Central American Indians did not have natural fertilizers, with the exception of rotten fish and human excrement, while in Peru, coastal farmers had huge reserves of guano, and in the mountains, llama (taki) dung was used for fertilizer.

These camelids are descended from wild guanacos, which were domesticated thousands of years before the Incas. Llamas tolerate high mountain cold and desert heat; they serve as pack animals, capable of carrying up to 40 kg of cargo; they provide wool for making clothes and meat - it is sometimes dried in the sun, called “charki”. Llamas, like camels, tend to defecate in one place, so their manure can be easily collected to fertilize fields. Llamas played an important role in the formation of settled agricultural cultures in Peru.

Social organization. Ilyu. At the base of the social pyramid of the Inca empire was a type of community - the aylew. It was formed from family clans that lived together on the territory allocated to them, owned land and livestock together, and divided the harvests among themselves. Almost everyone belonged to one community or another, was born and died in it. Communities were small and large - up to an entire city. The Incas did not know individual land ownership: the land could only belong to the aylyuili, later, to the emperor and, as it were, to be leased to a member of the community. Every autumn there was a redistribution of land - plots increased or decreased depending on the size of the family. All agricultural work in the aylyu was carried out jointly.

At the age of 20, men were supposed to get married. If the young man himself could not find a mate, a wife was selected for him. In the lower social strata the strictest monogamy was maintained, while representatives
The ruling class practiced polygamy.

Some women had the opportunity to leave the ailya and improve their situation. We are talking about “chosen ones” who, for their beauty or special talents, could be taken to Cuzco or to the provincial center, where they were taught the art of cooking, weaving or religious rituals. Dignitaries often married the “chosen ones” they liked, and some became concubines of the Inca himself.

State of Tawantinsuyu. The name of the Inca Empire, Tawantinsuyu, literally means “four connected cardinal directions.” From Cusco we went to different directions four roads, and each, regardless of its length, bore the name of the part of the empire to which it led. Antisuya included all the lands east of Cuzco - the Eastern Cordillera and the Amazonian jungle. From here the Incas were threatened by raids from tribes they had not pacified. Continsuyu united the western lands, including the conquered cities of Costa - from Chan Chan in the north to Rimac in Central Peru (the location of present-day Lima) and Arequipa in the south. Collasuyu, the largest part of the empire, extended south from Cuzco, covering Bolivia with Lake Titicaca and parts of modern Chile and Argentina. Chinchasuyu ran north to Rumichaka. Each of these parts of the empire was ruled by an apo, related by blood to the Inca and answerable only to him.

Decimal administrative system. The social and, accordingly, economic organization of Inca society was based, with certain regional differences, on a decimal administrative-hierarchical system. The accounting unit was purik - an adult capable man who has a household and is able to pay taxes. Ten households had their own, so to speak, “foreman” (the Incas called him a pacha-kamajok), a hundred households were headed by a pacha-kuraka, a thousand were headed by a malku (usually the manager of a large village), ten thousand were headed by a provincial governor (omo-kuraka), and ten the provinces made up a “quarter” of the empire and were ruled by the apo mentioned above. Thus, for every 10,000 households there were 1,331 officials of various ranks.

Inka. The new emperor was usually elected by a council of members of the royal family. Direct succession to the throne was not always observed. As a rule, the emperor was chosen from the sons of the legal wife (koya) of the deceased ruler. The Inca had one official wife with countless concubines. Thus, according to some estimates, Huayna Capac had about five hundred sons alone, who happened to live under Spanish rule. The Inca appointed his offspring, who made up a special royal ailya, to the most honorable positions. The Inca Empire was a true theocracy, since the emperor was not only the supreme ruler and priest, but also, in the eyes of the common people, a demigod. In this totalitarian state, the emperor had absolute power, limited only by custom and fear of rebellion.

5 Art of American Civilizations

Report: Inca Empire

Another great state of pre-Columbian America was the Inca Empire, or, as the Incas themselves called their country, Tawantinsuyu or “Land of the Four Parts.” The latter name is due to the fact that the country was divided into four provinces: Kuntinsuyu, Collasuyu, Antisuyu and Chinchasuyu with the capital in the city of Cusco. The founding of the country is attributed to the legendary Inca Manco Capac. The word “Inca” itself never referred to the name of the tribe; it only denoted the ruler of the state. Under his successors, the territory of the state constantly expanded, especially when a regular army was created under Yaruara Huacaca.

When conquering a state or city, the Incas resettled other tribes on their territory, due to which the national element, which could lead to a war of liberation, disappeared. In the conquered territories, the state language of the Incas, Quechuan, was introduced without fail, which also contributed to the unity of the huge country. The symbol of the country's power was the city of Cusco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, on whose territory there were hundreds of palaces and temples. The main square in the city was Huacapata Square (sacred terrace), from which roads departed to the four main provinces of the country. There were also palaces there, one of which had an area of ​​30 by 160 meters. The wealth of the Inca rulers can be judged by the fact that when the old Inca emperor died, his body was embalmed and placed in the palace, which henceforth became a sanctuary. His successor had to build a new palace for himself. No European ruler could afford such luxury. But most of all I was amazed by its splendor temple complex Cusco Coricancha (golden courtyard). Its main building was the temple of the sun god Inti, in which there were a huge number of tons of gold alone. Golden windows, doors, walls, roofs, floors, ceilings, and religious objects amazed people. The center of the temple was a multi-meter disk made of pure gold, symbolizing the Sun God. Near the temple there was a courtyard called Intipampa (golden field), on which there were trees, plants and herbs made of gold, deer, butterflies, shepherds, etc. Moreover, all this was made in life-size and everything moved (!) with the help of the most skillful mechanisms . It truly was a miracle unparalleled in the world. No less proud of the empire were its roads, which were no inferior to modern highways. One of these roads was 5,250 kilometers long - the longest highway in the world until the beginning of the 20th century. The roads were up to 7.5 meters wide, and in some places were located at an altitude of 5160 meters above sea level. Inns with warehouses were built on the roads at a certain distance from each other.

Stone statues of Easter Island. Chile

The Incas also had a state post office, which, you see, looks almost fantastic. Despite these magnificent achievements, the Incas did not know either the wheel or writing. However, they had writing, but in the form of a “knot letter”: the threads in this knot indicated either gold - a yellow rope, or a soldier - red, etc. Numbers were indicated by knitting a certain number of knots. However, this did not interfere with the development of science and poetry. The life of the Incas was unthinkable without religious rituals, which, like the Aztecs, were characterized by incredible cruelty. A “caste” of professional priests, headed by a high priest, was responsible for performing the rituals. The gods of the Incas were Inti - God of the sun, Mama Kilya - Goddess of the moon, Mama Pacha - Goddess of the earth, Mama Kochi - Goddess of the sea, etc. Each of these gods was dedicated to a special holiday, of which there were a year (for the Incas the year was also equal to 365 days) exorbitant amount.

Relief on the Gate of the Sun in Tiahuanaco.

The Incas. Reconstruction

During each of them, thousands of people were thrown onto the altar, whose blood flowed in rivers from the altars of the insatiable gods. Trampled and moral values, ultimately reduced to zero. Religious fanaticism and cruelty, combined with debauchery, corroded the outwardly brilliant empire from within, like rust. On November 15, 1532, a detachment of Spanish conquistadors led by Pizarro, crossing the Andes, entered the land of the Incas. The history of the collapse of the Aztec state completely repeated itself. Taking advantage of the strife that began among the Incas in the struggle for the throne, Pizarro with a small handful of people defeated the greatest empire, which soon turned into a Spanish colony.

Inca rulers:

1. Manco Capac (1150)

2. Sinchi Roka

3. Lloque Yupanqui

5. Capac Yupanqui

21. General characteristics of the Inca culture.

Inca Rock

7. Yaruar Huacac

8. Viracocha Inca

9. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438-1471)

10. Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1471-1493)

11. Huayna Capac (1493-1527)

12. Huascar (1527-1530)

13. Atahualpa (1530-1532)

Like the idol with clay feet from the book of the prophet Daniel, the Inca Empire looked menacing and majestic, but if we take a closer look, we will see that its base, like the idol’s, was made of clay. Built on false religion, cruelty and debauchery, the Inca Empire collapsed, leaving behind pitiful, degraded tribes of unfortunate people who did not know how to sew clothes, shoot archery, or build on their own.

Truly, without God there is no future, no life itself!

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The Inca Empire existed for a relatively short time from the beginning of the 15th century. until 1532ᴦ., when the country was captured by the Spanish conquerors. The Incan writing system has not been fully deciphered. The capital was the city of Cusco, famous for its Golden Garden (perhaps the craftsmen who created it were from the Chimu people).

The architecture is simple and unadorned. Temples, dwellings, and fortresses are made of huge blocks of stone (up to 350 tons in weight) very precisely fitted to each other, but not held together with binding mortars (Sacsahuaman fortress).

The houses had strong stone walls and cramped interior spaces. Most houses have no windows and are lit through doors. According to travelers' descriptions, 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 was characteristic 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, rainbow 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 Incan architecture.

Stone sculpture received almost no development among the Incas.

The art of making and painting ceramics has been developed. It is conventionally divided into several periods. In the first period, the vessels depict scenes of battle, fishing, and mythological subjects. 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 person’s head, sometimes conveying individual features.

Later, vessels appear in the form of animals, fruits and plants.

The main food of the Incas was potatoes (including canned ones), corn, and pumpkins. The Incas grew coca, a narcotic plant. In the empire there was a clear division of the population into the elite and the bulk of the inhabitants. According to the 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 his main wife, he had a harem and could live with any of the nuns of the monasteries, since he was the incarnation of the Sun God on Earth. The heir was appointed during the life of the ruler by the ritual 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 responsibilities. 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. Group 10: patients.

There were no uprisings in the state. This social system provided security for old age. In this regard, it is sometimes called “Indian socialism”. There was no money in the empire, only natural exchange on the market. Gold is used as decoration. The army is well trained and equipped (clubs with stone or metal ends). There were excellent roads and a post office. The messengers ran from parking lot to parking lot for about two kilometers; as a result of the relay race, 2000 km were covered in 3 days. The Incas composed poems that were later written down by the Jesuits.

Inca culture

The knotted quipu script is widespread, in which one can count up to 1,000,000. The nobility studied at universities for 4 years, where they studied the Quechua language, solar religion, knotted quipu script, history and military affairs. The Incas wove dense fabrics with a density of 80´45 threads/cm (modern parachute fabric has a density of 60´30 threads/cm). Οʜᴎ performed operations, incl. and craniotomy.

The last Inca was called Tupacu Omaru.

Additional information.

The oldest cultures of Peru date back to the 3rd millennium BC.

Close to ᴦ. Lima At that time, there was a culture 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 the 2nd - middle of the 1st millennium. BC.

Culture Nazca(mid-2nd century BC) correlates with the valleys of the Ica, Pisco and Nazca rivers. Here the “wooden Stonehenge of Peru” was found – the Escuquería sanctuary. It consists of hundreds of dried mesquite tree trunks. The center of the composition is a square formed by 12 rows of 12 columns each. Giant images found in the Nazca Desert. Gallery of Pampa de Nazca - platforms, lines, spirals, human and animal ʼʼfigurasʼʼ (geoglyphs). The head of a giant bird (120m long) is directed towards the point of sunrise on the winter solstice. According to M. Stingle, the Indians buried the deceased using a triangular-shaped balloon. At sunset, the deceased was placed in a wicker basket, the balloon rose above the sea and disappeared beyond the horizon.

Culture Mochika(I-VII centuries BC) left behind the pyramids of the Sun and Moon. In Pampa Grande. The Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 342´159 m. Gold products are unique. We have reached the legend of the existence of a golden garden and eyewitness accounts of a room with five thousand golden butterflies, each of which weighed less than a gram and hovered in the air with slight fluctuations in the air. The butterflies were melted by the conquerors. As a result, they received 4 kg 700 ᴦ. pure gold. Around Lake Titicaca, many chulpas have been found - funeral towers of rectangular and cylindrical shape, extended upward.

According to legend, the founder of the Chimu culture sailed to Peru from the north with his detachment on rafts. His name was Naimlan. ʼʼNaiʼʼ means ʼʼbirdʼʼ or ʼʼflightʼʼ. 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 divided into 10 quarters 450´300 m. In many respects, the customs that reigned in the Chimu state differed little from the customs of the 25th century. Inc. In the 1460s. Two cultures collided - the coastal Chimu culture, which worshiped the Moon, and the mountainous Inca culture, which worshiped 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, and the sky.

Culture Olmec- one of the cultures of ancient Mexico. San Lorenzo, the capital of the Olmecs, was abandoned for unknown reasons in 900ᴦ. The second capital of the “jaguar” Indians was La Venta. Huge stone heads have been found at La Venta.

Tribes Chol and Tzeltal They left in Palenque (Mexico) a famous ensemble in which the palace tower, a 4-story building, was also an observatory.

The Toltec culture is interesting. The Pyramid of the Morning Star in Tula (Tollan) has been preserved.

INCI is an Indian ethnic group that created the state of Tau-an-tin-suyu in the south of South America.

They assume that the first word “In-ka” (Sa-pa In-ka - One-st-ven-ny In-ka) means -cha-lo ti-tul ver-khov-no-go in one of the Ke-chua tribes, and then it was per-re-ne-se-but and on myself. The history and culture of the Incas are known according to the data of archeo-logy and written sources of the co-lo-no-go time. me-ni (before everything is-pa-no-pe-ru-an-skim chro-ni-kam Gua-ma-na Po-we de Aya-ly, Gar-si-la-so de la Vega, etc.). As long as the Indians re-re-da-va-va-li is-to-ric information orally, and the Spanish began to write -lu-chen-through-re-water-chi-kov historical information only since the 1550s. that is, after the war, a lot in history (including a number of dates) and the culture of the Incas re-con- st-rui-ru-et-sya pre-po-lo-living-but. Ras-kop-ki hundred-faces of the Incas Kus-ko for-no-work, since in its place there is a modern city; only since 1980 has research begun into Spanish villages within a radius of about 80 km from Kus-co, as well as pro-provincial Inc. centers.

Is-to-ki kul-tu-ry in-kov.

To Kus-ko, where the formation of the Incas took place, on the periphery of ancient cities states of Ua-ri and Tiau-a-na-ko. Their disappearance is accompanied by de-mo-graphic, economic, cultural decline and, -ro-yat-but, change-to-se-le-niya. The decline in the area before Kusko was less obvious. The early Inca culture of Kil-ke arose here in the 11th century, from the beginning of the 14th century, it spreads into the neighboring region . At this time, in the Kus-ko region, there is a 4-level warehouse in the Kus-ko region, a har-rak-ter-naya for wounds -their states create public buildings (palaces or temples). The village is moving from hilltops convenient for defense to flat valleys, where -wai-va-et previously empty lands; agricultural lands and irrigation canals are being created. Characteristic forms of ke-ra-mi-ki Kil-ke (“ari-ball-ly” with a narrow throat and a wide-curved vein-chi- com, flat mi-soch-ki with ros-pi-sue on two lo-vi-nah in the form of arcs facing each other) most closely ki na-khod-kam to the east of Lake Ti-ti-ka-ka in Bo-li-via and in northwestern Ar-gen-ti-ne.

The Incas themselves consider themselves to have come from Tiau-a-na-ko, to own a “secret” language, different from language of the Ke-Chua native to the Se-le-Niya Kus-ko. However, the data confirming this tradition are from the day: most of the names of the Incas are these mo-lo-gi- zi-ru-et-xia from the Ke-chua language, which in the 13th-16th centuries was spoken in the village of the central and partly southern mountain regions -no-go Pe-ru, including do-li-ny Kus-ko. A number of special-ben-no-stey ar-hi-tek-tu-ry of the Incas has a par-ral-le-li in ar-hi-tek-tu-re Tiau-a-na-ko. The memory of Ua-ri was not preserved in the Inca tradition, but the most ancient ki-pus who served Incas for keeping records and transferring other information. Thus, the Incan culture is, at least kos-ven-but, connected with more ancient cultures of the Central Andes.

Is-to-riya go-su-dar-st-va in-kov.

At the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries, in the valley of Kus-ko, a ran-ne-go-su-dar-st-ven-noe There are at least 20-30 thousand people, who are controlled by the Incas. Around 1438, the Chan-ka invaded here from behind, who were close in language (ke-chua) and culture to the inhabitants of Kus-ko. So-glas-no-le-gen-de, the old ruler of Kus-ko Vi-ra-ko-cha In-ka and his legal heir In-ka Ur-ko if you were going to ka-pi-tu-li-ro-vate, but the great son of the great-vi-te-la, who took the name Pa-cha-ku-ti, once -defeated the enemy and assumed supreme power.

Raz-gro-miv chan-ka, Pa-cha-ku-ti (about 1438-1463) po-ko-ril about-go-su-dar-st-ven-noe ob-e-di-ne -nie ai-ma-ra Kolya to the se-ve-ro-za-pa-du from Lake Ti-ti-ka-ka. Hostile Ko-lya association Lu-pa-ka (south-west of Lake Ti-ti-ka-ka) joined the world- But. In the basin of the lake Ti-ti-ka-ka Pa-cha-ku-ti took over hundreds of thousands of lamas and al-pa-ka, ensuring the army trans-port-tom, clothes-and-free-st-vi-em. For ideological confirmation of their dominion, the Incas established godly temples on the islands of Lake Ti-ti-ka. ka. Near-si-tel-but since 1463, together with Pa-cha-ku-ti, his son Tupac Yupan-ki (To-pa) led the ru-ko-vo-vo In-ka Yupan-ki), who became the sole ruler after the death of his father (about 1471-1493). For-how-you-we-were-moving to the north, so that we could do Ka-ha-mar-koy - the most significant of the inter- mountain cat-lo-vins in the north modern Peru. Then Tu-pak Yupan-ki went to the territory of modern Ek-va-do-ra, where his army, with great labor, established -whether there is control over the places of ple-me-on-mi. In the south of this region, the city of To-me-bam-ba (near the modern city of Ku-en-ka) was founded, which became the second most important city in the Inca state (in At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries, we sometimes assumed this role in the north of the city of Ki-to, near the modern capital of Ek-va. Dora).

In the late 1460s - early 1470s, the Incas descended on the coast and captured the state of Chi-mor with the capital of Chan-Chan. After the re-establishment in Chi-mo-re, his co-treasures were you, qualified re-months -len-ni-ki per-re-se-le-ny from Chan-Cha-na to Kus-ko, the city is empty, but the tombs are right-vi-te-ley os-ta- they didn’t touch you (they were left behind). At the same time, it is very likely that the Incas were largely behind them for being in Chi-mo. re-bureaucratic management system.

Yes, Tu-pak Yupan-ki is on the right-hand side to the south, it’s easy to connect small towns-su-dar-st-va and in-de-st- va of the central and southern coastal region of modern Peru. The common Andean temple center Pa-cha-ka-mak supported the Incas. We met with the stubborn team of the Incas only in a small distance from Kan-e-te. In the reign of Tu-pa-ka Yupan-ki it was at the top of the territory of Western Bo-livia, where it was -le-but-rest-sta-nie of the tribes of the stakes and sub-chi-not-on the fruit-to-native do-li-on Ko-cha-bam-ba on the eastern slopes of the bo-li -Viy Andes. The Inca state also included a vast territory in the south-west of modern Bo-livia, north of the pas-de-deux Ar-gen-ti-ny and se-ve-re Chi-li (approximately up to the modern city of San-t-ya-go), there is not a large group of Pa-mi sko-vo-dov, land-farmers and fish-bak-kov, not ok-za-shi-mi seriously with-against-le-niy.

Starting with Pa-cha-ku-ti and ending with the right-le-ni-em Uay-na Ka-pa-ka (1493-1525), the Incas tried to move ru-be-zhi of the state and to the east, for the re-ko-re-nia of cha-cha-singing - obi-ta-te-ley of the Eastern Cor-dil-e-ry (in the north of modern Pe -RU). There were no attempts to invade Amazonia. At the peak of Mo-gu-sche-st-va, the Inca state, according to many researchers, had a population of about 9 million people (estimates range from 5 up to 15 million people) and spread from the north to the south for 4000 km.

Wai-na Ka-pak died in the north of Tau-an-tin-suyu from an epidemic that spread in South America after the peri- vykh con-tak-tov with the euro-pei-tsa-mi. The heir he chose also died. But the 19-year-old Uas-kar was appointed to live in Kus-ko. Having hastened to go to the main posts in the state of his friends, he entered into a conflict with his father’s close wives, at div-shi-mi-xia on the territory of modern Ek-va-do-ra. Those you-dvi-well-li in ka-che-st-ve no-in-ki Atahual-pu. The army of Huasca-ra was the thunder of the Atahual-py Chal-ku Chi-moy. While in Ka-ha-mar-ke, Atau-al-pa or-ga-ni-zo-val killed Huasca-ra and his associates, wives and children tey. F. Pi-sar-ro, you-sa-div-shiy-sya with your squad in Tum-be-se (near the border of modern Pe-ru and Ek-va-do-ra). Having seized Atau-al-pu during an unexpected attack, he accused him of usurping power and began his march to Kus-ko, supposedly with the aim of bringing Ua-ska-ra, his son Man-ko Ka, to the throne - come on II. All this time, hostile Inca groups continued to collide. Part of the pro-provincial nobility of the Incas supported the Is-pan-tsev, having given them support. After his formal re-establishment in 1534, In-ka Man-ko Ka-pak II soon led the rebellion against the -pan-tsev, and in 1536 he moved to the mountains, creating there the New Ink kingdom in Vil-ka-bam-be. During the war between Ua-ska-rum and Atau-al-poi and under the attack of the Is-pan-tsev, the administrative system of Tau-an-tin-suyu ras-pa- the towns were gone and deserted, except for the Kus-ko and parts of the towns in the basin of Lake Ti-ti-ka-ka, where the war was settled.

A new number of Indians, who grew up in the era of troubles, began to idealize the former state of the Incas, so More than that, the pro-provincial nobility were not able to get it out of the way. Modern science presupposes that, according to the Per-Ru-An-Indians, in 1565 it came to -a large-scale time cycle that the local gods had to bring to you first (wa-ka) defeat the god of the white aliens. These ideas have developed into the ideology of the movement “that’s how he is” (“the dance is not an arc”: his wake -va-teli took part in the ex-ta-ti-che-dances), arose precisely before 1565. But already in 1572 it was destroyed, just like the New Ink kingdom, the last ruler of which, Tu-pak Ama-ru, was executed, after which the open and mass co-operation against the Indians of Per-ru for a long time it's pre-kra-ti-elk. Having accepted Christianity, the hundred-personal and pro-provincial nobility kept part of their pri-vi-le-gy and studying in the formation of cultures, including both Indian and European elements.

In 1780, Kho-se Gab-ri-el Kon-dor-kan-ki, who took the name Tu-pak Ama-ru II, led the largest uprising in vi-tse-ko-ro-lev-st-ve Pe-ru, after-ra-zhe-niya ko-ro-go Ink-kul-tu-ra windows-cha-tel-no ut -ra-ti-la possible development, and before the Inca nobility, would you have been sent to Is-pa-nia or kill you.

Public structure and management in the state su-dar-st-ve in-kov.

By the beginning of the 15th century, the Incas, like other ethnic groups in the Andes, had a special -roy head of the older phras-ry (anan) was considered the supreme vo-zh, and the head of the younger phras-ry (urin) was in the greater inter- re connected with the cultural functions (the frat-ries also stood together as men and women -to us and how for-vo-va-te-li abo-ri-ge-us).

The main shrine of the Incas first came to the place of Ua-na-kau-ri, where, according to pre-da- nyu, on the way to the valley, Kus-ko ascended to the sun, came back and turned to stone, the elder brother of the mythical ancestor Ink-skaya di-na-stii Man-ko Ka-pa-ka. He brought the news of the coming us-on-foot capture of Kus-ko and the sanction-ni-ro-val on behalf of In-ti (Sun) right of Man -ko for the war. Ras-po-la-ga-yas south of Kus-ko, the saint of Ua-na-kau-ri na-ho-di-elk on the lands of the phras-ria Urin and as-so- tion-ro-va-elk with the priests. Sanction on the vo-tsa-re-nie of ka-zh-do-go no-vo-go In-ki da-val In-tip Apun (co-principal, high priest). Pro-is-ho-di-lo this b-go-da-rya vision, during something with In-ti-p Apu-n once-go-va-ri-va-lo god (Sun, or Vi-ra-ko-cha, which, perhaps, associates with the Milky Pu- that or Orion). In an effort to gain power bypassing the traditional process, from the to reap the og-ra-ni-chi-vai-shchey of his full-but-powerful sanction of the high-priest, Pa-cha-ku-ti announced that he himself had a vision, and not in Ua-na-kau-ri, but in Kus-ko, where In-ti talked with him. Previously, In-type Apun, as the head of the frat-ria of Urin, vi-di-mo, next-to-val functions of the high priest, Pa-cha-ku- he began to appoint the highest spiritual person himself. The new pro-ce-dura in-tro-ni-za-tion was not op-re-de-le-na in de-ta-ly; in the future, the sanction of the high priest was still required for her; -to rely on the priesthood of the largest temple centers. The new In-ka received final confirmation of his rights, having won victory on the battlefield.

Given absolute power, Sa-pa In-ka, most likely, made decisions, teaching his own opinion -their kin-st-ven-ni-kovs, considered, like himself, straight-we-mi-to-that-mi Man-ko Ka-pa-ka. Between the races there were the highest priests (in Kus-ko), ad-mi-st-ra-tives (in the capital and sometimes in pro-vin-tsi-yah) and military positions.

The Inca state was divided into 4 quarters (suyu) - two in two po-lo-vi-nahs (ha-nan - top and hu-rin - bottom). Each Suyu was from several ai-liu communities, members of which considered themselves to be op- re-de-la-nyh mythical ancestors. Each-to-mu ai-lyu with-from-vet-st-vo-val his se-ke - azi-mut, to-the-right, coming from Ko-ri-kan- chi (“golden house” or “estate-ba”), the main temple of Kus-ko. Along this line there are holy dan-no-aylyu. In practice, we didn’t present ourselves with geometric straight lines, as far as they were connected with the op-re-de-len -we-mi irrigating ka-na-la-mi, which-ry-mi control-de-li-lyu, but the general right-le-nie se-ke so-kran-nya -what turned out to be essential in the process of expansion of the state. Chin-cha-suyu and Ko-lya-suyu oh-wa-you-va-li most of the territory of the Inca state (to the north-west and to the south-east to-ku from Kus-ko); Kun-ti-suyu (south-west) and An-ti-suyu (se-ve-ro-east-current) were significantly less.

The main way of communication was the do-ro-gi that existed in the Andes from long ago, but now - added to a single network. Along them there were tam-bo (tam-pu) - an analogue of permanent courtyards. Special speedy moves (hours) not-sli (according to es-ta-fe-te from one place there to another) ki-pu, so-der-jaw -shy pri-ka-za-niya and why-you. Co-di-rov-coy, de-cipher-coy and storage of this information-for-ma-tion for special servants - ki-pu -ka-may-ok. After the Spanish conquest, from their words there was a za-pi-sa-na and part of the news, which was then included in written sources about the Incas.

The Ink army was or-ga-ni-zo-va-na on the basis of de-sya-tich-no-go prin-ci-pa, from nev-ren-no-stu and dis-qi-p-li-noy. Warrior-new na-bi-ra-li from among the kre-st-yan-ob-shchin-ni-kov. We-we-eat the far-off battle served by the ancestor and bo-la, the near one - ma-ka-na (pa-li-tsa with the stone, hour- then star-to-both-on-the-top made of stone or, sometimes, bronze), as well as both-to-sharp wood a sword and a long spear, sometimes with a bronze on it. The body is protected by a helmet and a small shield made of wood or tro-st-ni-ka with a leather cover, dense cotton -cha-to-bu-maz-naya ru-ba-ha; the bow and the spear were not of use, even though they were known to be near him. A network of races along the roads of ammo-ni-tion and food-supply warehouses would-allow-the-st-ro-con-cen-tri-ro- raise troops to fight border wars and suppress rebellions.

The Spanish have established 2 ka-te-go-ries of nobility in the Inca state. The first ka-te-go-ry was represented by the Incas, who became the state-dominated group of new -type, not connected with the pro-is-ho-de-anything with the local-ness. To the second, from-but-si-lis ku-ra-ka (in some areas they are called-by-ba-li-ku) - the heads of you for-voe-van- nyh communities and ob-e-di-ne-niy. Having different mythical ancestors (wa-ka), the Incan and pro-provincial nobility could not have mixed, although from rare to become Incas. the local nobility were still allowed to appear. Connection of ku-ra-ka with the center under-der-zhi-va-lo ras-pre-de-le-nie from the center of gold, do-ro-gih fabric, import -nyh ra-ko-wins, etc. according to the principle of da-ro-about-me, the way-to-st-v-v-she-go under-keep-personal good connections and loyalty.

Management under-chi-nyon-ny-mi ter-ri-to-ria-mi was or-ga-ni-zo-va-but on the basis-no-ve de-sya-tic-noy sys-te-we with the elements of the four-ve-rich groups of 40, 200 and 400 people). Head-va-mi under-raz-de-le-niy lower-shey st-pe-ni chun-ga (10 do-mo-farms) were communities-ni-ki (whose kan-di -datu-ry, in-vi-di-mo-mu, ut-ver-awaited hell-mi-ni-st-ra-to-ra-mi more you-from-the-rank-ha ). 100 (pa-cha-ka), 1 thousand (ua-ran-ha) and 10 thousand (hu-nu) farms under the local ku-ra-ka . From the very beginning, the head of the hu-well was a person who, according to tradition, did not have the right to such a post. The highest (after Suyu) administrative unit was pro-vin-tion - ua-ma-ni (term first-in-first-but from-but-strong-sya to to the mountain tops, because of some of the volumes of the forest). Behind-the-vi-si-mo-sti from the previous et-no-zy-ko-vyh borders ua-ma-ni stood from 2, 3 or 4 parts, each giving approximately 10 thousand to households. This or-ga-ni-za-tion was the most-after-the-va-tel-but introduced into the previously weak-for-the-green paradise -onahs of the central part of the mountains of Peru, where the Incas built new administrative centers (Ha-tun-Hau-ha, Ua-nu-ko-Pam-pa, Pum- pu). In other regions, pre-Inca forms of government were preserved to a greater or lesser extent.

Even in the pre-Inc. ka-tions as “men” and “women”. With the ob-ra-zo-va-ni-em Tau-an-tin-suyu in the “male” po-zi-tion there is an is-key-tel-no Kus-ko. In-ka had symbolic rights to all the women of the empire, knowing what his marriage to a high -no-pre-sta-vi-tel-no-cey ka-zh-do-go under-chi-nyon-no-go na-ro-da. In Kus-ko they have a lot of wives. In addition, throughout the entire state of ryh per-re-se-la-li in special ak-lya-ua-si (ua-si - house). Most of the fabric for the needs of temples and the state, some of the In-ka from-da- to marry those whom he wanted to reward.

9/10 on-se-le-niya Tau-an-tin-suyu would-be a member of the communities (ai-liu), who would-ho-div-shih-sya on the-mo-provide- pe-che-nii. They were supposed to develop 1/3 of all land for the state, but in practice this share turned out to be much less -shay; for rare exceptions, they didn’t pay. Communities should have taken part in collective work - mi-ta. A number of communities moved to new territories (loyal groups - to state borders, inter-me-shan-nye in vo-sta-ni-yah - to the interior regions). Their members (mit-mak - from mi-ta) were exposed to more intensive exploitation, headed towards the image -bot-ku whole or abandoned lands. About 1% of the inhabitants of the Inca state are connected with ay-liu, these people (yana-ko-na) were servants, from-red could he hold administrative positions? Not a lot of ka-te-go-ri-ey na-se-le-niya were ka-may-ok - qualified re-mes-len-ni-ki and servant -chie ad-mi-ni-st-ra-tions.

The share of the urban village, in my opinion, is not more than 5%. The number of inhabitants of Kus-ko is estimated at 125 thousand people, the largest pro-vin-tsia-l-no-go ts-nt-ra Ua- Well-ko-Pam-pa - 30 thousand people. They live in cities built by the Incas who are entirely dependent on the state for food supply, something centrally-tra-li-zo-van-but was delivered to the ka-ra-va-na-mi lamas and was stored, next to the product qi-ey re-mes-len-ni-kov, in warehouses (kol-ka). Such a sis-te-mu Incas unas-le-do-va-li from more early states.

Due to the work and lands transferred by the state to the local nobility in the city for us-lu-gi, warehouses “cor-po-ra-tive” sector of eco-no-mi-ki. In many cases, In-ka only confirmed the rights of the ku-ra-ka and his family-st-ven-nik-kov, who were the ones in the region. Yes, even earlier. The expansion of this sector was also due to the growth of the power of a hundred-personal nobility. After his death, part of his property was inherited by his wives, some of whom ra-zo-you-va-li new pa-na-ka (according to the meaning, close to ai-lyu - society). The main duty of its members was to take care of the mummy of the deceased In-ki, but in fact this is you-de-liv-neck from the public sector, a cor-ra-tiv-noe economy, providing a large number of successors to In-ki; most-shin-st-vo pa-na-ka races-on-la-ha-elk near the capital.

In addition, in the Central Andes, even before the Incas, it is believed that there were large temple-houses . The most influential temples under the Incas were Ko-ri-kan-cha in Kus-ko and Pa-cha-ka-mak in the -be-re-zhe.

Of particular significance was the plan-ta-tion-mi kus-tar-ni-ka ko-ki, whose leaves, calling at the same -va-nii narcotic effect, used in rituals. There were only a few lands suitable for growing, and the rights to them were settled separate ay-lew and ethnic groups.

Kul-tu-ra in-kov.

In the Central Andes there were no pan-te-o-na deities with their own spheres (sun, fire, ve- ter, etc.). Ua-ka (god-st-va-per-pred-ki) and ua-ma-were not the objects of local cults, but the general Andean ha-rak-ter had an idea about the supreme heavenly na-cha-le, connected with several not quite -not a part of our images (the rising sun, the mid-day sun, etc.). In mountainous regions, there is a pro-intermediate position in the hierarchy between the upper level and the localities behind -no-small god-gromov-nickname. Mother-earth (Pa-cha-ma-ma) played an important role in the religion of the farmers, but not in the state culture.

The supreme ruler (Sa-pa In-ka) is associated with the Sun (and his main wife is with the Moon), but There are no convincing facts evidencing their existence in life. In-ka-you-fell in the middle-of-no-one between the highest-shi-mi si-la-mi and people. In a 17th-century drawing, In-ka and the Sun at one time drink from paired goblets, just like noble people -li together with In-ka. In August, during the ri-tua-la, the first of the fields of In-ka, and behind him, the knowledge of -ra-ba-you-va-li-stock to the east of the city of Kus-ko, after which they could start agricultural work there goddamn. The owner of this po-la was considered a sister (or mother) and she is also the great-ro-di-te-la Man-ko Ka-pa-ka - Ma -ma Huaco. Man-ko Ka-pak, his brothers and sisters, and then the deceased great-vi-te-li Kus-ko, whose mummies were kept in Ko-ri-kan-che and de-mon-st-ri-ro-va-lis during the holidays, had functions similar to those that rye joined the ua-ka of other ethnic groups of the Central Andes. Although the cult of the royal ancestors was the basis of the Inca religion, in the provinces of the -rich cults of local noble families. The Incas entered into the pro-vin-tsi-yahs previously unknown there wa-ka, creating a network of new cults. When mik-mak is transferred to new lands, renewal of the former ua-ka pro-ho-di-lo under the control of the central authorities .

An important role in the spiritual life of the Incas was played by the games of the temples, which gained their influence through the pro-ro-che-st-va and their meaning, in which there were right-of-rights and private persons (the name of the per-ru-an-skoy the capitals of the Li-ma and the Ri-mak river, in which it is located, which means “speaking” , that is, “ora-kul”). The inclusion of new territories in the sphere of influence of the temple is pro-is-ho-di-lo by-the-mos-no-va-niya of up-to-black prices -trov about-ri-tsa-niy.

The ideological unity of the state, the relationship between Kus-ko and the pro-vin-tions were found in the ri-tua-le Ka-pak Hu-cha (“great-sacrifice”). Once every 4 years, and also in case of disaster, in every house of four suyu or in a specific place, well- having been in the support of higher powers, we have found children and sub-studies who did not have physical disabilities cov. At the head of the tor-same process, they are sent to Kus-ko and sacrificed to Ko-ri-kan-che or Ua-na-kau-ri li-bo na ro-di-ne. When-not-shay-in-sacrifice as-so-ro-va-ly with ua-ka, and their kind-st-ven-ni-ki used various uses- vi-le-gia-mi. With Ka-pak Hu-cha, in-vi-di-mo-mu, we are connected in the gree-be-niya of children and under-ro-st-kov, about-on-ru-women- the Inca states located in the periphery - on the island off the coast of modern Ek-va-do-ra and on many mountain peaks of Ar-gen-ti -ny and Chi-li. The inventory for the required costs was standard and included golden figures of lamas and people.

Fabrics were among the most prestigious items. After the execution of Atau-al-py, the warehouses with textiles were burned by the Incas. The specimens that have come down to us often cover the roof differently, but the color is different, then-ka-pu - square-ra-ta-mi alone. the same size with different geometric figures inside. Perhaps, then, introduce yourself to a familiar system; When I tried to prove that this was writing, I was unsuccessful.

All the figures of deities in the Inca temples were destroyed by the is-pan-tsa-mi. Their brief descriptions, as well as individual images preserved on gold objects, indicate They believe that the Inca iconography is influenced by coastal culture. How-rak-ter-noy for the Incas ka-te-go-ri-ey from-de-liy there were gold and silver-ry-gur-ki (height up to 10-20 cm) men, women and lamas or al-pa-ka; many things come from the gro-be-ny ​​children and pod-ro-st-kovs associated with the ri-tua-l of Ka-pak Hu-cha. Also ha-rak-ter-ny: ceramic, stone and wooden vessels for ri-tu-al-li-li-ions (pah-cha) in the shape of a cu-ri-tel-tube 15-20 cm long with a capacity in the form of the head of a living creature, in which on -is there a liquid, and with a hole at the pro-ti-false end, from which it came out- there were (meet the smell of the whole in the form of fi-gu-ry living things, fish, etc.); mini-nia-tur-nye (height 1-3 cm) stone fi-gur-ki lam and al-pa-ka (vi-di-mo, belonging to the family-but -ro-do-vyh cults); stone mortars with a diameter of about 15 cm in the form of a low qi-lin-dr with a relief de-co-r (possibly for ras-ti-ra-niya nar-ko-ti-kov).

After the Spanish conquest, village ri-tu-al-cubes (ke-ro), for which previously there was only a geometric pro- carved or-on-ment, began to cover complex, chrome-plated scenes. Proportions of figures and some details of these images from the European tradition, but other details and general com-po-zi-tion co-operate with the ancient-not-per-ru-an-skim ka-no-us, following alive right up to Russia on the co-su-dahs of the 1st-7th centuries mo-chi-ka cult-tu-ry. Illustrated mar-married on ke-ro military clashes from-ra-zha-yut fight-bu obi-ta-te-ley Kus-ko with in-day-tsa-mi Ama -zo-nii (“chun-cho”).

The distinctive feature of the Inca's art-hi-tech-tu-ry is the use of large (sometimes gigantic - weighing more than 100 tons) of smooth-worked under-rectangular stone blocks and narrowing door and window frames -yoma. The buildings follow the shape of rural housing - a rectangular house under a gable roof (kal-yan-ka) and a -re from four-you-rekh kal-yan-ka around the square-rat-no-go yard (kan-cha). On the coastline (or in the mountains), the Incas also built bricks from raw materials. The cut-to-pe-re-se-chen-ny rel-ef-me-st-no-sti on the eastern slopes of the Andes necessitated the construction of the under-lying along the slope of ter-ras and st-nitz. She-dev-rum ar-hi-tek-tu-ry is the un-pre-built out-of-town re-zi-den-tion of Ma-chu-Pik- chu. Some of the objects there, apparently, were intended for observation behind the sun with the purpose of determining the days of the sun or equal-den-st-viya, important in the region -yes-re.

The as-tro-no-mic representations of the Incas were very different from the characteristics of Eurasia and Meso-America: from-sut-st-vie zo-dia-ka, the designation of different bright stars by the same name, the important role of the Milky Way in the term of the year for the seasons, the idea of ​​“black constellations” - dark spots on the Milky Way and others. Su-dya according to some is-exact-ni-kam, Pa-cha-ku-ti re-for-mi-ro-val ka-len-dar, with-vy-zav on -started from counting the lunar months to the winter sun and introducing half-days for co-gla-so -va-niya moon-no-go and sol-nech-no-go ka-len-da-ray.

Tra-di-tsi-on-naya oral kul-tu-ra. Poetry, music and dance had important state and social significance and were closely connected with the cult. In the court ce-re-mo-ni-yahs in Kus-ko there is a participation of en-sembles of flu-ti-sts, often very large ( up to 100 mu-zy-kan-tov), ​​playing-rav-shie including in tech-nike, close go-ke-tu. The go-lo-sa deities and spirits were inter-re-da-va-ly with the help of the ori-ginal-nyh according to those eyebrows ha-rak-te-ri-sti- kam ae-ro-fo-nov in the sight of snakes, jaguars and other animals. Professional poets and mu-zy-kan-you have created your own kind of kas-tu (ara-vi-ku-na). In Kus-ko there are schools (yachau-a-si), where young men from noble families learn-va-li g-nea-lo- the history of the Incas, historical traditions, were trained in the art of poetry and music, etc. Girls, who were from bi-ra- among the priestesses of ak-l-ya-ku-na (“you are not the weight of the Sun”), they also learned to sing and play musical instruments. Men-tah in a special school in Kus-ko. The main genres of professional poetry and music: hi-lya - hymns with different themes (religious ob-rya-do-vye, at-ur-chen- special for the calendar holidays, etc.), and so - historical songs. Some of the popular folk and dance genres have been preserved to this day traditional cult-tu-re ke-chua and ayma-ra: this is a salty love song of ara-vi (can be used the same way for pro-long nyh flutes), elegiac song uan-ka (sound-cha-la during the tor-same tra-ur-nyh ceremonies), number lec-tive dogs-ni-tan-tsy ka-chua, wai-no (cool), ka-ruyu (uses two rya-da-mi tan- tsyu-shih).

According to the voice-but-is-pa-no-pe-ru-an-ski-m chron-ni-stam of the 16th century, the music of the Incas ob-e-di-ni-la tra-di-tions new tribes who settled in Latin America; in part-st-no-sti, ra-ko-vi-na-tru-ba was behind-im-st-vo-va-na at the na-se-le-niya on-be-re-zhya Ka -rib-sea. “Class-si-che-sky” in-st-ru-ment of the Incas - multi-barreled flute (ke-chu-an-skoe - an-ta-ra, ai-mar-skoe - si -ku), known back in the culture of Na-ska: flue-you before the Inc. -lo pipes 3-14), the Incas had 2-row in-st-ru-men with 4-5 pipes in each row ( from-go-tav-li-va-li from tro-st-ni-ka, bones, clay, wood-ve-si-ny, metal-la, most ar-ha -ich-nye - from stone). Gar-si-la-so de la Ve-ga noted the complexity of the sound of Inca music for multi-barreled flutes, keys -shih in its upper part after-the-lu-to-new. In court music, strings of 4-5 paired longitudinal flutes were used, together forming a long (up to 3 octave) sound series of complex inter-ter-val-no-go so-sta-va. Along with the flute-ta-mi (long-length flutes are still distributed in Peru under the name ke-na, pin-ko-lyo) for mu -zy-ki of the Incas ha-rak-ter-ny pipes (from tro-st-ni-ka, you-k-you and other materials), different-but-different idio-phones (ko-lo-kol-chi-ki, gong-gi, idio-phone from che-re-pa gua-na-ko, various gree-mush-ki, including from ko- torture ta-pi-ra) and mem-bra-no-fo-ny (the last pre-po-lo-resident-but only one-sided - with one- no mem-bra-noy).

Additional literature:

Ba-shi-lov V.A. Ancient ci-vi-li-za-tions of Per-ru and Bo-li-vii. M., 1972;

Gar-si-la-so de la Ve-ga. Is-to-riya go-su-dar-st-va in-kov. L., 1974;

Zub-rits-ky Yu.A. In-ki-ke-chua. M., 1975;

Ethnic processes in the countries of South America. M., 1981;

Piedras y oro. El arte en el im-pe-rio de los incas. Madrid, 1988;

Berez-kin Yu.E. In-ki: is-to-ri-che-sky experience of the im-peri. L., 1991; aka. Sa-kra-li-za-tsiya of power in pre-Is-pan Per-ru // Sa-kra-li-za-tsiya of power in the history of ci-vi-li-za -tions. M., 2005. Part 1;

El culto estatal del imperio inca / Ed. M. S. Ziolkowski. Warsz., 1991;

D'Altroy T.N. Provincial power in the Inka empire. Wash., 1992;

González Carré E. Los señoríos Chankas. Lima, 1992;

Farrington I.S. Ritual geography, settlement patterns and the characterization of the provinces of the Inca heartland // World Archaeology. 1992. Vol. 23. No. 3;

Pärssinen M. Tawantinsuyu, the Inca state and its political organization. Hels., 1992;

Ma-tos R. Pumpu. Centro administrativo inca de la Puna de Junín. Lima, 1994

Illustrations:

Bronze knife-tu-mi (pro-is-ho-dits ter-ri-to-rii Pe-ru). 15-16 centuries Met-ro-po-li-ten-mu-zey (New York). BRE Archive;

Ke-ra-mi-che-skiy “ari-ball” (pro-is-ho-dits ter-ri-to-rii Pe-ru). 15 - beginning 16th centuries Met-ro-po-li-ten-mu-zey (New York). BRE Archive;

Ke-ra-mi-che-skaya model of the estate (nay-de-nav Kus-ko). Museum and Institute of Ar-heo-lo-gyi Uni-ver-si-te-ta in San-An-to-nio-Abad (Is-pa-nia). BRE Archive;

In the ballroom towers (chul-pas) of the nobility on the mountain of the lake Ti-ti-ka-ka. BRE Archive;

Mu-mi-fi-tsi-ro-van-nye os-tan-ki re-byon-ka (nay-de-ny in El Plo-mo); a headdress made of feathers of a kon-do-ra, a cloak made of al-pa-ki wool, next to the house - uk-ra-shen-s-bags with leaves- mi ko-ki, hundred-tu-et-ki women, two lamas, etc. 16th century. Museum Santi-ya-go (Chi-li). BRE Archive;

De-re-vyan-ny ku-bok-ke-ro. Con. 17-18 centuries Brooklyn Museum (New York). BRE Archive;

Pa-no-ra-ma city Ma-chu-Pik-chu (Pe-ru). BRE Archive.

"Inca State"

1. Formation of the Inca state

The Incas dominated the territory now called Peru for a long time. During the period when the territory of the empire reached largest sizes, it included part of South America and extended over almost a million square kilometers. In addition to present-day Peru, the empire included most of present-day Colombia and Ecuador, almost all of Bolivia, the northern regions of the Republic of Chile and the northwestern part of Argentina.

Term the Incas, or rather Inca, has a variety of meanings. Firstly, this is the name of the entire ruling class in the state of Peru. Secondly, this is the title of a ruler. Thirdly, the name of the people as a whole. Original name Inca worn by one of the tribes that lived in the Cuzco Valley before the formation of the state. Many facts indicate that this tribe belonged to language group Quechua, since the Incas during the heyday of the state spoke this language. The close relationship of the Incas with the Quechua tribes is evidenced by the fact that representatives of these tribes received a privileged position compared to other tribes and were called “Incas by privilege.” “Inca by privilege” did not pay tribute, and they were not enslaved.

There are 12 known rulers who headed the state. The first royal couple, who were at the same time brother and sister, were the first Inca, Mango Capac and his wife Mama Oklo. Historical legends tell of wars between the Inca and neighboring tribes. The first decade of the 13th century was the beginning of the strengthening of the Inca tribe and, possibly, the time of the formation of a union of tribes led by the Inca. The reliable history of the Incas begins with the activities of the ninth ruler, Pachacuti (1438–1463). From this time on, the rise of the Incas began. The state is rapidly growing stronger. In subsequent years, the Incas conquered and subjugated the tribes of the entire Andean region from Southern Colombia to Central Chile. The population of the state is 6 million people.

2. Inca economy

The Incas achieved great success in many economic sectors, and above all in metallurgy. The mining of copper and tin was of greatest practical importance. Silver deposits were developed. The Quechua language has a word for iron, but most likely it was not an alloy, and the meaning of the word was given by meteoric iron, or hematite. There is no evidence of iron mining or iron ore smelting.

Tools and jewelry were created from the mined metals. Axes, sickles, knives, crowbars, tips for military clubs and many other items needed in the household were cast from bronze. Jewelry and religious objects were made of gold and silver.

Weaving was highly developed. The Indians of Peru already knew looms, and there were three types of looms. The Indians sometimes dyed the fabrics woven on them, using for this purpose the seeds of the avocado tree (blue color) or various metals, in particular copper and tin. Fabrics made in the distant centuries of the Inca civilization have survived to this day and are distinguished by their richness and fineness of finish. The raw materials were cotton and wool. Fleecy fabrics for clothing and carpets were also produced. For the Inca, as well as members of the royal clan, special fabrics were made - from colored bird feathers.

Agriculture received significant development in the Inca state, although the area where the Inca tribes were located was not particularly conducive to the development of agriculture. This is due to the fact that streams of water flow down the steep slopes of the Andes during the rainy season, washing away the soil layer, and in dry times there is no moisture left on them. Under such conditions, the Incas had to irrigate the land to retain moisture in the fields. For this purpose, special structures were created and regularly updated. The fields were located in stepped terraces, the lower edge of which was reinforced with stonework that retained the soil. A dam was built at the edge of the terrace to divert water from mountain rivers to the fields. The channels were lined with stone slabs. The state appointed special officials whose duties included monitoring the serviceability of structures.

On the fertile, or rather, became fertile, land in all regions of the empire, a wide variety of plants were grown, the queen among which was corn, in the Quechua language - sara. The Indians knew up to 20 different varieties of corn. Apparently, corn in ancient Peru was introduced from the Mesoamerican region. The most valuable gift of Peruvian agriculture is the potato, native to the Andes. The Incas knew up to 250 varieties of it. They grew it in a variety of colors: almost white, yellow, pink, brown and even black. Peasants also grew sweet potatoes. The legumes grown primarily were beans. The pre-Columbian Indians also knew pineapples, cocoa trees, various varieties of pumpkins, nuts, cucumbers, and peanuts. They used four types of spices, including red pepper. A special place was occupied by the cultivation of the coca bush.

The main tools of labor in agriculture were the spade and hoe. The lands were cultivated by hand; the Incas did not use draft animals.

The Inca Empire was a country that created many wonders. One of the most remarkable are the ancient Peruvian “highways of the Sun” - a whole village of highways. The longest of the roads exceeded 5 thousand kilometers. There were two main roads across the country. Canals were built along the roads, on the banks of which fruit trees grew. Where the road ran through the sandy desert, it was paved. Where the road intersected with rivers and gorges, bridges were built. The bridges were constructed as follows: they were supported by stone pillars, around which five thick ropes woven from flexible branches or vines were fastened; the three lower ropes, which formed the bridge itself, were intertwined with branches and lined with wooden crossbars. Those ropes that served as railings intertwined with the lower ones and protected the bridge from the sides. These suspension bridges represent one of the greatest achievements of Inca technology.

As is known, peoples ancient America Wheels weren't invented. Cargo was transported in packs on llamas, and ferries were also used for transportation. The ferries were improved rafts made of beams or beams of very light wood. The rafts were rowed and could lift up to 50 people and a large load.

Most of the production tools, textiles, and pottery were made in the community, but there was also a separation of crafts from agriculture and cattle breeding. The Incas selected the best craftsmen and moved them to Cuzco, where they lived in a special quarter and worked for the Supreme Inca, receiving food from the court. These masters, cut off from the community, actually found themselves enslaved. In a similar way, girls were selected who had to study spinning, weaving and other handicrafts for 4 years. The work of craftsmen and spinners was an embryonic form of craft.

Gold was not a means of payment. The Incas had no money. The Peruvian Indians simply exchanged their goods. There was no system of measures, except for the most primitive - a handful. There were scales with a yoke, from the ends of which bags with the load to be weighed were suspended. Exchange and trade were little developed. There were no bazaars inside the villages. The exchange was accidental. After the harvest, the inhabitants of the highlands and coastal areas met in certain places. Wool, meat, furs, leather, silver, and gold were brought from the highlands. Grain, vegetables and fruits, and cotton were brought from the coast. The role of universal equivalent was played by salt, pepper, furs, wool, ore and metal products.

3. Social system of the Incas

The Inca tribe consisted of 10 divisions - khatun-aylyu, which in turn were divided each into 10 aylya. Initially, the ailyu was a patriarchal clan, a tribal community: it had its own village and owned the adjacent fields. Names in the clan community were passed down through the paternal line. The Aylews were exogamous. It was forbidden to marry within the clan. Its members believed that they were under the protection of ancestral shrines - Huaca. Aylyu were also designated as pachaka, i.e. a hundred. Khatun-aylyu (large clan) represented a phratry and was identified with a thousand. Illu becomes a rural community in the Inca state. This is reflected in the consideration of land use regulations.

All the land in the state belonged to the Supreme Inca, but in fact it was at the disposal of the Aylew. The territory belonging to the community was called brand; the land owned by the community was called pacha brand, those. community land.

Cultivable land ( chakra) was divided into three parts: the “land of the Sun” - the priests, the fields of the Incas and the fields of the community. Each family had its share of the land, although all of it was cultivated jointly by the entire village, and community members worked together under the direction of elders. Having cultivated one section of the field, they moved on to the fields of the Incas, then to the fields of the villagers, and then to the fields from which the harvest went to general village fund.

Each village had fallow lands as well as “wild lands” - pastures. Field plots were periodically distributed among fellow villagers. The field plot, which bore the name stupid, given to a man. For each male child, the father received another tupa, and for each daughter, half. It was a temporary possession and was subject to redistribution.

In addition to the tupu, on the territory of each community there were lands that were called “gardens, their own land” (muya). This plot consisted of a yard, a house, a barn, a shed, and a vegetable garden. This plot was inherited from father to son. From these plots, community members could receive surplus vegetables or fruits. They could dry meat, spin and weave, make pottery vessels - everything that they had as private property.

In the communities that developed among the tribes conquered by the Incas, the clan nobility also stood out - kuraka. Representatives of the kurak were obliged to monitor the work of the community members and control the payment of taxes. Community members of the conquered tribes cultivated the lands of the Incas. In addition, they processed areas of kurak. In the kurak household, concubines spun and wove wool or cotton. In the community herd, the Kuraka had up to several hundred heads of cattle. But still the Kuraka were in a subordinate position, and the Incas stood above them as the highest caste.

The Incas themselves did not work. They constituted the military-service nobility, and were allocated land plots and workers from the conquered tribes. The lands received from the supreme Inca were considered the private property of the serving nobility. The noble Incas were called orejons (from the Spanish word "oreh" - ear) for their huge gold earrings that stretched their earlobes.

Priests occupied a privileged position in society. A portion of the harvest was collected for the benefit of the priests. They were not subordinate to local rulers, but formed a separate corporation. These corporations were controlled by the high priesthood located in Cuzco.

The Incas had a number of workers - Yanakuns - whom the Spanish chroniclers called slaves. This category was fully owned by the Incas and performed all the menial work. The position of these Yanakuns was hereditary.

Community workers performed most of the productive labor. But the appearance of a large group of hereditarily enslaved workers indicates that the society in Peru was an early slave society with significant remnants of the tribal system retained.

The Inca state had a unique structure. It was called Tawantinsuyu - “four regions connected together.” Each region was ruled by a governor, who was usually a direct relative of the ruling Inca. They were called "apo". Together with several other dignitaries, they formed the state council of the country, which could express their proposals and ideas to the Inca. In the regions, power was in the hands of local officials.

At the head of the state was the ruler - “Sapa Inca” - the sole ruling Inca. Sapa Inca commanded the army and headed the civil administration. He and the senior officials watched over the governors. To control regions and districts, there was a constant postal service. Messages were transmitted by relay race by messengers-runners. On the roads, not far from each other, there were postal stations where messengers were always on duty.

The Incas introduced a language compulsory for all - Quechua. They split up the tribes and settled them piecemeal in different regions. This policy was carried out in order to consolidate the subordination of the conquered tribes and prevent discontent and uprisings. Laws were created to protect the dominance of the Incas.

4. Religion and culture of the Incas

In accordance with the religious views of the Incas, the Sun occupied a dominant position among the gods and ruled the entire unearthly world.

Official religious system The Incas had a “heliocentric” system. It is based on subordination to the Sun – Inti. Inti was usually depicted as a golden disk from which rays emanated in all directions. The disk itself depicts the face of a man. The disk was made of pure gold, that is, a metal that belonged to the Sun.

The wife of Inti and at the same time the mother of the Incas - in accordance with the beliefs of the Indians - was the moon goddess Quilla.

The third “inhabitant of the sky,” also revered in the Inca Empire, was the god Ilyapa - both thunder and lightning.

The temples owned enormous wealth, a large number of ministers and craftsmen, architects, jewelers and sculptors. The main content of the Inca cult was sacrificial ritual. Sacrifices were carried out mainly by animals and only in extreme cases by people. An emergency could be festivities at the moment of accession to the throne of a new supreme Inca, during an earthquake, drought, or war. Prisoners of war or children who were taken as tribute from conquered tribes were sacrificed.

Along with the official religion of sun worship, there were also more ancient religious views. Their essence was reduced to the deification not of great, powerful gods, but sacred places and objects, the so-called uak.

In the Inca religion great place occupied totemistic views. The communities were named after animals: Pumamarca (puma community), Condormarca (condor community), Huamanmarca (hawk community), etc. Close to totemism was the worship of plants, primarily potatoes, since this plant had a primary role in the life of the Peruvians. Images of this plant have been preserved in sculpture - vessels in the form of tubers. There was also a cult of the forces of nature. The cult of Mother Earth, called Pacha Mama, was especially developed.

The cult of ancestors was of great importance. Ancestors were revered as patron spirits and guardians of the land of a given community and the area in general. There was a custom of mummifying the dead. Mummies in elegant clothes with jewelry and household utensils were preserved in tombs. The cult of the mummies of rulers reached particular development. They were credited with supernatural power. Mummies of rulers were taken on campaigns and carried to the battlefield.

To measure space, the Incas had measures based on the size of parts of the human body. The smallest of these measures was considered to be the length of the finger, then the measure equal to the distance from the bent thumb to the index finger. To measure land, a measure of 162 cm was most often used. For counting, a counting board was used, which was divided into strips, compartments in which counting units and round pebbles were moved. Time was measured by the time it took for the potatoes to cook, which meant approximately one hour. The time of day was determined by the sun.

The Incas had an idea of ​​the solar and lunar years. To observe the sun, as well as to accurately determine the time of the equinox and solstice, astronomers of the Inca Empire built special “observatories” in many places in Peru. The largest solar observation point was in Cusco. The position of the sun was observed from specially built four towers in the east and west of Cusco. This was necessary to determine the timing of the agricultural cycle.

Astronomy was one of the two most important scientific concepts in the Inca Empire. Science was supposed to serve the interests of the state. The activities of astronomer scientists, who, thanks to their observations, could establish the most appropriate dates for the start or simply execution of certain agricultural work, brought considerable benefit to both the state and all its citizens.

The Inca calendar was primarily oriented towards the sun. The year was considered to consist of 365 days, divided into twelve 30-day months, after which the calendar still included five (and in a leap year - six) final days, which were called “days without work.”

There were schools for boys. Boys from among the noble Incas, as well as the nobility of conquered tribes, were accepted there. Thus, the task of educational institutions was to prepare the next generation of the empire's elite. They studied at school for four years. Each year gave certain knowledge: in the first year they studied the Quechua language, in the second - the religious complex and the calendar, and the third and fourth years were spent studying the so-called quipus, signs that served as “knot writing”.

The kippah consisted of a rope, to which cords were tied at right angles in rows, hanging down in the form of a fringe. Sometimes there were up to a hundred such cords. Knots were tied on them at different distances from the main rope. The shape of the nodes and their number indicated numbers. This record was based on the Inca decimal system. The position of the knot on the lace corresponded to the value of the digital indicators. It could be one, ten, a hundred, a thousand or even ten thousand. In this case, a simple knot denoted the number “1”, a double knot – “2”, a triple – “3”. The color of the cords designated certain objects, for example, potatoes were symbolized by brown, silver by white, gold by yellow.

This form of writing was used mainly to convey messages about taxes. But sometimes the quipu was used to record calendar and historical dates and facts. Thus, quipus were a conventional system for transmitting information, but still it was not writing.

The question of whether the Incas had writing remains unresolved until recently. The fact is that the Incas did not leave written monuments, but still beans with special signs are depicted on many vessels. Some scientists consider these signs to be ideograms, i.e. the signs on the beans have a symbolic, conditional meaning.

There is also an opinion that the Incas had writing in the form of picture writing and pictography, but due to the fact that the boards on which these signs were written were framed in gold frames, looted and dismantled by Europeans, the written monuments have not survived to this day .

Literary creativity in the Quechua language was very rich. However, since these works were not recorded in writing and were preserved in the memory of reciters, only fragments preserved for posterity by the first Spanish chroniclers have reached us.

From the poetic creativity of the Incas, hymns (the hymn of Viracocha), mythical tales, and poems of historical content have been preserved in fragments. The most famous poem is “Ollantay,” which glorifies the exploits of the leader of one of the tribes who rebelled against the supreme Inca.

One of the most developed areas of science in the Inca Empire was medicine. The state of health of the inhabitants was not a private matter of citizens; on the contrary, the empire was interested in ensuring that the inhabitants of the country served the state as best as possible.

The Incas used some scientific techniques to treat diseases. Many medicinal plants have been used; Surgical interventions, such as craniotomy, were also known. Along with scientific techniques, the practice of magical healing was widespread.

5. The end of the Inca state. Portuguese conquests

Pizarro's troops captured Cuzco in 1532. The Inca chief Atahualpa died. But the Inca state did not immediately cease to exist. Residents ancient state continued to fight for their independence. In 1535, an uprising breaks out. It was suppressed in 1537, but its participants continued the struggle for independence for more than 35 years.

The rebellion against the Spaniards was led by the Inca prince Manco, who used cunning methods in the fight against the conquerors. He first went over to the side of the Spaniards and approached Pizarro, but only with the goal of studying the enemy. Having begun to gather forces at the end of 1535, Manco in April 1536 with a large army approached Cuzco and besieged it. He forced captive Spaniards to serve him as gunsmiths, artillerymen and gunpowder makers. Spanish firearms and captured horses were used. Manco himself was dressed and armed in Spanish, rode on horseback and fought with Spanish weapons. The rebels often achieved great success by combining the techniques of original Indian warfare with European ones. But bribery and betrayal forced Manco to leave this city after 10 months of the siege of Cuzco. The rebels continued to fight in the mountainous region of Ville Capampe, where they fortified themselves. After Manco's death, Tupac Amaru becomes the rebel leader.

Resistance to the ever-increasing forces of the conquerors proved futile, and the rebels were eventually defeated. In memory of this last war against the conquerors, the title of Inca and the name Tupac Amaru were subsequently adopted by the Indian leaders as a symbol of the restoration of their independent state.

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The Incas(Inca) - a tribe from the Cuzco Valley, whose powerful civilization existed in the “pre-Columbian” era on the South American continent. The Incas managed to create a powerful empire that changed its appearance and conquered many peoples.

The Incas themselves called their empire Tawantinsuyu(Four cardinal directions) because there were 4 roads leading out of Cusco in different directions.

The Indians called their ruler Inka, which means “lord”, “king”. Then “Inca” began to be called all representatives of the ruling class, and with the invasion of the conquerors - the entire Indian population of the Tawantinsuyu empire.

Creation of the Great Empire

Thanks to archaeological finds, it is obvious that the Inca civilization arose in 1200-1300. At the end of the 11th century, due to the drought that had been raging in the Andes for more than 100 years, neighboring, stronger tribes lost their power in fights for water and food.

Inspired by success, the Inca rulers turned their gaze to the abundant land - a spacious plateau with. And Pachacutec-Inca-Yupanqui, one of the great rulers of the Incas, undertook a military campaign to the south in the 15th century.

The population of the lakeside states was about 400 thousand people. The mountain slopes are riddled with gold and silver veins, and fat herds of llamas and alpacas grazed in the flowering meadows. Llamas and alpacas are meat, wool and leather, that is, military rations and uniforms.

Pachacutec conquered the southern rulers one after another, expanding the boundaries of his possessions, which became one of the largest empires on the planet. The number of subjects of the empire reached about 10 million people.

Victories in the military field were only the first stage on the path to power; after the warriors, officials, builders and artisans got down to business.

Wise Rule

If an uprising broke out in some Inca province, the rulers undertook the resettlement of people: they resettled residents of remote villages to new cities located near the built roads. They were ordered to build warehouses along the roads for regular troops, which were filled by their subjects with the necessary provisions. The Inca rulers were brilliant organizers.

The Inca civilization reached an unprecedented peak. Stonemasons erected architectural masterpieces, engineers turned isolated roads into a single system connecting all parts of the empire. Irrigation canals were created, agricultural terraces were laid out on the mountain slopes, about 70 types of crops were grown there and significant reserves of provisions were stored in storage facilities. The governors were excellent at taking inventory: they were aware of the contents of each repository of the vast empire, keeping records using a kippah - an analogue of the Incas' computer code - bundles of multi-colored threads with special combinations of knots.

The Inca rulers were quite harsh, but fair: they allowed the conquered peoples to preserve their traditions. The main social unit was the family. Each group of 20 families had a leader who was subordinate to a superior, who already headed 50 families, and so on - until the Inca Ruler.

Social structure of civilization

The Inca Empire had such a social structure: everyone worked here, with the exception of the youngest and very old people. Each family had its own cultivated plot of land. People weaved, sewed clothes, shoes or sandals, made dishes and jewelry from gold and silver.

The inhabitants of the empire had no personal freedom; the rulers decided everything for them: what to eat, what clothes to wear and where to work. The Incas were remarkable farmers; they built grandiose aqueducts to irrigate fields with water from mountain rivers, growing many valuable crops.

Many buildings erected by the Incas still stand today. The Incas created many original bridges from willow twigs and vines twisted into thick ropes. The Incas were natural potters and weavers:
They wove the finest fabrics from cotton, such that the Spaniards considered them silk. The Incas also knew how to spin wool, making beautiful and warm woolen clothes.

Mummy - ruler of the Incas

In the middle of the 15th century, Huayna Capac, the new ruler of the Incas, ascended the throne. Then it seemed that the Inca dynasty was all-powerful. People could even change nature in incredible ways: during the construction of Huayna Capac's residence, workers leveled hills, drained swamps, and moved the riverbed (Spanish: Rio Urubamba) to the southern part of the valley to plant cotton, corn, chili peppers and peanuts, and In the center of the “new” territory, a palace - Quispiguanca - will be built from brick and stone.

Around 1527, Huayna Capac died of an unknown illness. Those close to him, mummifying the body, transported it to Cuzco, and members of the royal family visited the deceased, asking for advice and listening to the answers spoken by the oracle sitting next to him. Even after death, Huayna Capac remained the owner of the Quispiguanca estate: the entire harvest from the fields went to maintain the mummy of the ruler, his wives, descendants and servants in luxury.

The traditions of inheritance among the Incas were such that even after the death of the rulers, all the palaces remained their property. Therefore, each Inca, as soon as he ascended the throne, began the construction of a new city palace and country residence. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of up to a dozen royal residences, built for at least six rulers.

Inca - Spanish Conquest

In 1532, a detachment of 200 foreign conquerors under the leadership landed on the coast of what is now Peru. They were wearing steel armor and armed with firearms. Along the way, those dissatisfied with the dominance of the Incas joined the army. The Incas stubbornly resisted the conquerors, but the empire was weakened internecine war and the fact that a large number of Incas warriors died from smallpox and measles brought by the Spaniards.

In the western half of South America, below the equator, on the vast plains between the Andes, lived an industrious people who created a large civilized empire. Its kings, called Incas, were descended from the sun. It was said that, taking pity on the miserable life of the savages of the country of Peru, the sun sent his children Manco Capaka and his sister, who was also his wife, to gather them into a comfortable society, teach them agriculture, the art of spinning and weaving, and other crafts necessary for a comfortable life.

The first parts of the country to which education was introduced by Manco Capac and his sister were the environs of Lake Titicaca, on the islands of which colossal temples of the sun and moon later stood, surrounded by sacred maize fields. The Inca people went to these temples on pilgrimage. To the north stood in the beautiful Andean valley the sacred city of Cusco, protected by surprisingly strong walls. It was the capital of the Inca king; it housed a magnificent temple of the sun, where pious Peruvians from all over the kingdom also came to worship. Like the Aztecs, the inhabitants of Peru did not know iron, but they knew how to build huge stone buildings. These were government buildings. The king called the people to build them. The mass of the population was enslaved by the aristocracy, whose members, actually called Incas, were considered to belong to the same clan. The head of this family was the king, whose rank was inherited by the eldest son or, if there were no sons, then to the closest relative, whose father and mother were people of the royal family.

The growth of the Inca Empire during the reigns of its various sovereigns

Inca kings

The Inca kings, sons of the sun, were considered sacred. They had unlimited power, appointed all rulers and judges, established taxes and laws, were high priests and commanders in chief. The nobles, the highest rank of which were the Incas, members of the royal family, observed forms of special reverence in their relations with the king. The Peruvian aristocracy had a rite similar to knighthood: a young man noble birth knelt before the king; the king pierced his ear with a golden needle. On special occasions, the Inca king appeared to the people in magnificent clothes, woven from delicate vicuña wool, decorated with gold and expensive stones. He traveled frequently throughout the state; he was carried in a rich palanquin; he was accompanied by a numerous brilliant retinue.

In all areas of the state, the kings had magnificent palaces. Their favorite residence was Yucay, a rural palace in a picturesque valley near Cusco. When the Inca king "went to his father's dwelling," the entire population of the empire observed established forms of mourning. Precious vessels and expensive attire were placed in the king’s tomb, and his beloved servants and concubines were sacrificed on his coffin; the number of these victims is said to have reached several thousand people. Expensive things were also placed in the coffins of nobles; At their funerals, wives and servants were also sacrificed.

Social structure of the Inca Empire

All land of the Peruvian Empire was considered the property of the Incas. It was divided among people of all classes; the size of the plots was commensurate with the needs of the class, but only the lower class cultivated the land. In those villages that belonged directly to the government, a third share of all agricultural and industrial products belonged to the king and his family; the other third went to the maintenance of churches and numerous clergy; the remaining third was divided annually in each rural community among householders in proportion to the number of souls in the family. Agriculture was under the patronage of the king. Products of agriculture and industry, including fine textiles made from vicuña wool, were stored in the royal stores and distributed as needed.

Taxes and duties in kind lay only on the commoners; the nobility and clergy were free from them. The commoner in the Inca Empire was obliged to work like a working animal, to properly perform the work assigned to him, without thereby improving his position, but was provided for from want. The people worked diligently under the supervision of overseers, the land was excellently cultivated, the mines delivered a lot of silver and gold; Bridges and stone roads were built along the main roads. Many of these structures were enormous; roads were carefully repaired; all areas of the state were connected by them with Cusco; mail went through them.

Inca city Machu Picchu

Inca conquests

The Inca Empire was peaceful. Its kings did not forget to take care of the good organization of the army, but they loved to conquer neighboring tribes not with weapons, but with the influence of civilization, industry, and through persuasion; in cases where they made conquests, they treated the conquered mercifully. The purpose of the conquests was to spread Peruvian worship and social order. Temples of the sun were built in the conquered areas; Numerous clergy settled at the temples; the land was divided into plots, the Peruvian work order was introduced; the crude dialects of the conquered were gradually replaced by the language of the Incas. In those areas whose population stubbornly resisted this influence, numerous Inca colonies were founded, and the former inhabitants moved en masse to other areas.

Scientists called amauta, were in charge of schools and kept chronicles of events using a special method of “knot writing” called pile. The tribes that lived near the initially small kingdom of the Incas were once hostile to it, but little by little they merged with the Peruvians into one people, having mastered the Peruvian language and submitting to the orders introduced among them by the Incas.

Sample of "knot letter" quipu

Serving the sun

The service of the sun in the Inca Empire was magnificent and almost completely pure from human sacrifice; they were produced only occasionally and in small quantities. Usually only animals, fruits, flowers, and incense were brought to the sun. Cannibalism disappeared among the Peruvians. Their main food was maize, bananas and cassava; They prepared an intoxicating drink from young maize trunks, which they loved very much. Another favorite pleasure of theirs was chewing coca leaves, which produce an effect similar to opium.

In the temples of the sun, an eternal sacred fire burned, which was maintained by the virgins of the sun, who lived like nuns. There were a lot of them. Some of them received the honor of becoming one of the wives of the Inca king. The king and nobles were allowed polygamy; but it seems that only one wife was considered legitimate.

The Inca Empire before the Spaniards

Such was the Inca Empire when the Spaniards, led by Pizarro, arrived to enslave him. They marveled at the carefully cultivated fields of the Peruvians, the beautiful products of their industry, the well-built houses, which usually had only one floor to prevent damage from earthquakes, but were spacious and comfortable; they marveled at the huge magnificent temples, the strong walls of the fortresses; They saw a hardworking, self-controlled people, meekly obeying the laws, which were considered the decrees of the deity.

The theocratic structure gave the state the character of an organism in which everything happens according to the law of necessity; every Peruvian was assigned his place in one caste or another, and he remained in it with submission to fate. Commoners lived by the rules imposed on them upper castes, but for the lack of freedom they were rewarded with security from want.