Society and Culture
There were two classes in Inca society: the ruling classes and the peasants. The emperor was called “The Inca” or “Sapa Inca”. He ate from gold dishes and never wore the same clothes twice. Like the pharaohs of Egypt, he took his own sister as queen. The noblemen came from the capital Cuzco and helped the emperor govern the land.Most people were farmers who produced their own food and clothes. The main crops were corn, tomatoes, squash and sweet potatoes, which the Inca were first to produce. They also raised guinea pigs, ducks and dogs. One of the most important animals was the llama. It providedthe peasants with wool and it could carry heavy loads as well.
The Inca spoke the Quechua language. They couldn’t write, but they used quipus, which were stringswith a system of knots attached to them. That’s how they recorded their harvest.
The Inca were very skilful in making handicrafts. Women were excellent weavers .They wove cloth into tunics. Men were great metalworkers. They knew how to extract metal from ore by heating and melting it. Then the metals were moulded into different shapes to make weapons and other tools. The Inca also produced pottery and made musical instruments such as flutes.
The Inca were great construction workers and architects. They built a large network of roads throughout the empire, as well as tunnels and suspension bridges that crossed narrow mountain valleys.
In Cuzco the Inca built massive walls made of huge stones. Some were more than 7 metres high and weighed many tons. Even today, centuries later, the stones fit together so well that you can’t even put a knife blade between them.
The Inca worshipped gods of nature—the sun, the earth or thunder. They sacrificed humans and animals. People also worshipped their ancestors and kept mummies of some of them. The Inca created a calendar by looking at the movements of the sun and the moon. Harvest feasts were celebrated in May, planting rituals were held in August.http://eloisesfigueroa.blogspot.com
