“Mom!” I shout, “When are we leaving?"

“In about five minutes, honey.” She replies.

“Okay, I’ll be down then.” I say.

I can’t wait to go to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Civilization. I have done all of my research on it. Turns out that it is 11,000 feet above sea level! I also know that the most important god was Inti, or the Sun God because he let everyone live in the light and warmth. Even though Viracocha gave life to everything.    

The leader or emperor was called the Sapa Inca and he ruled over the entire empire. That is why we call the empire the Inca Empire. He owns everything in the empire, even the ground!

He also has many wives, but his main wife, the Queen, is the Coya who is his also his sister. Can you believe that?

There were three classes. The emperor, the nobles, and the commoners. The Incas didn’t have any slaves. This is why they are better than the Aztecs and Mayans who had slaves. The nobles were priests, leaders, or worked in the government. The commoners were farmers and herders.

Only the noble children went to school. But once all boys turned 14, they received loincloths to show that they were men. The noble boys had to do more and take tests and then swear their loyalty to the Sapa Inca. 

The Incas had 13 leaders’ in about 100 years. The reason why they had a lot of land was because they believed that when you died, the power stayed with you. So if you were a new leader, to become a powerful ruler, you needed to get more land. 

The Incas stayed in power because of their large armies, their growing trade, and taking over other tribes. Even with all of the people, the government provided food for them so they wouldn’t starve.

When the Incas wanted more land, they didn’t fight right away. The sent a representative to meet with the tribe and gave them a choice. Join peacefully to the Inca empire or war will come. If they say yes, then the tribe leader gets some power. If they say no, then they go to war and usually loose. 

The Incas called their empire Twawantinsuya meaning The Four Regions. The four suyus or regions were The Chinchay Suyu, The Anli Suyu, The Qualla Suyu, and The Kunti Suyu. 

They also worked with metal. The most important metals for them were gold and silver because they thought that gold were the “sweat of the sun” and silver were the “tears of the moon”. 

The Incas believed that the gods influenced their daily lives. Inti, the god of sun and agriculture was the most important because he gave them light and let them live. They also believed that many gods controlled all parts of nature. 

They interacted with their environment because they built terraces. Terraces are stair like earth steps carved into slanted ground to make it easier to plant crops in the mountains. 

The Incas also believed in the afterlife so they preserved the bodies. They believed that when you died, you either went to heaven or the underworld. They also kept huacas, places where you could pray for the dead and could place objects, in the tombs. 

Every day, the priests offered corn to the fire to give the gods food. In most sacrifices, llamas or guinea pigs were used. Only in dire needs or very sacred occasions would humans get sacrificed. Only children got sacrificed because they believed that purity honored the gods. 

When two people married, they married in their ayllu. Men could only marry one wife and usually in their twenties. While women married around 16.