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The Incas are one of the most interesting civilizations in the history of mankind. The Inca Empire was the largest pre-Colombian civilization in both North and South America. At its height, it covered a distance of approximately 3,200 miles (5,230 km) and had millions of citizens. In other words, this is the same distance between New York City and San Francisco. In addition, the Incas designed beautiful construction projects. This includes tens of thousands of miles of roads built in the harshest terrain on Earth, the Andes. Check out below to learn some more unknown facts about the Incas.
#10: Manco Capac-The Founder of Their Civilization
In Inca mythology, Manco Capac is either the son of the god creator of the world, Viracocha, or the son of Inti, the Sun god and patron deity of the Incas. According to legend, Inti sent out Manco Capac and his brothers to find a place that was suitable for a civilization. In order to assist them in their quest, they were given a mystic staff made of the purest gold. This staff had the power to build cities. Where ever it would touch the ground a city would spring forth. According to the legend, the staff touched the ground at Cuzzo, thus birthing the Inca civilization.[1]Study.com – Manco Capac: History & Overview
#9: Hurin and Hanan Dynasties
The Incas designed the city-state of Cuzco in the form of a puma, the sacred animal of the Inca civilization. Interestingly, the Incas organized the city into 2 major dynasties, the Hurin (upper) and the Hanan (lower). However, while the relationship of the two dynasties were good for the most part, sometimes friction did exist between the two.
Manco Capac founded the Hurin dynasty. In addition, this dynasty included the Emperors of the Incas. In fact, not until the days of the 5th Inca Emperor, Capac Yupanqui, did the line break. After the death of the 5th Emperor, a big rebellion began by the Hanan dynasty. The result of the rebellion was the death of the legitimate heir to the throne. Eventually, Inca Roca, another son of Capac Yupanqui eventually got the the throne of the Inca empire.[2]Learnodo Newtonic – 10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE INCA AND THEIR EMPIRE
#8: The Inca Trail
One of the most amazing facts about the Incas is that that despite building thousands of well-paved paths and roads, which reach even up to the highest peaks of the Andes mountain range, they never invented the wheel. In fact, they never even had access to it.
The Incas paved almost 18,000 miles of roads according to estimates. While compared to the ancient Romans who built over 50,000 miles of paved roads, this might not seem like a large number. However, it should be noted, that the average height for the Inca roads is 13,800 feet above sea level. This makes this ancient feat even more amazing.
The most famous Inca road is the trail to Macchu Picchu and the Dead Woman Pass. Both of these provide truly breathtaking views of the Andes peaks and the valley below.[3]go-today – Ten Interesting Fact about the Incas
#7: The Inca Language and Dialect
The native Quechua language was the main language of the Inca Empire. Millions of people still speak it. For example, there are 8 million speakers in Peru, 2 million speakers in Ecuador, and 1 million speakers in Bolivia. Quechua is actually an official language in both Peru and Bolivia. Furthermore, while you might not realize it, the language has had a great impact around the world. For example, the English language has incorporated many Quechua words, such as the names of the animals like the puma and the names of plants such as quinoa. This, of course, is only to be expected. The Inca civilization endured for centuries and spread to almost every part of the South American continent.[4]Good Nature Travel – The Incredible Incas—Interesting Facts About an Ancient Civilization
Today Spanish is the main language in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. However, many of the local citizens still use the Inca dialect, Ruru Simi. The dialect literally translates to the language of the people.
#6: Macchu Picchu-The Unfinished Wonder
Despite the beauty of Macchu Picchu, one of the amazing facts about the Incas is that they never actually finished it. Its constructions began in the middle of the 15th century. However, due to sicknesses that plagued the Incas and because of the Spanish conquistadors, the native population was almost completely exterminated before the end of the 16th century.
As a result, the Incas never officially finished Macchu Picchu. Despite this fact, it does not fail to amaze all the tourists who visit it, with its truly awesome design and wonderful views.
#5: Their Cultural Beliefs
However, one of the amazing facts about the Incas is that they didn’t believe that they were completely helpless against these supernatural forces. The Inca religion believed that they had patron gods who would help them in their time of need. This cultural system and Inca religion are still common practice to the modern day descendants of the Incas. For example, it is not uncommon when one drinks to offer a drink to Pachamama, the Inca deity of Mother Earth.
#4: They Conducted Brain Surgeries
Despite being an ancient civilization, the Incas had a very good understanding of the medical sciences. In fact, one of the most amazing facts about the Incas is that their understanding was so good that they were able to perform brain surgeries on patients with a very high success and safety rate. While the tools that they used in their surgeries were very limited, this did not hinder them from having a 90% of successful rate on brain surgeries.
In addition to this high level of medical knowledge, they also believed in a lot of ritualistic healing ceremonies. Often, these ceremonies included the consumption of healing herbs and their derivatives.[5]Latin Trails – Interesting fact about the Incas that many people ignore
#3: Inca Pottery
The Inca civilization excelled at the arts. This is best exemplified in their pottery making. Their pottery making is divided into two categories. The first is the ceramics for their religious or festive ceremonies. They crafted these with great care because they were for very special occasions. The second category were the ceramics for people’s daily and basic needs, like cooking and storing water or foods. They designed the pottery with the help of simple geometry, and they usually displayed images from animals or daily activities on them.
#2: Education and Writing Systems
One of the most amazing facts about the Incas is that they never invented a writing system. This seems amazing, especially in light of their medical knowledge. Their sole method of passing their wisdom and information to the next generation was through the spoken word. However, they did invent a way to keep their records through quipu, a series of long and knotted strings.
The Incas had also developed an interesting educational system, where the individual’s status played a major role in the kind of the education that they would receive. If you were lucky enough to be part of the Inca’s noble branches then you would receive an education of very high quality. On the other hand, if you were not noble, you would be trained to be proficient in various job skills.
#1: The Social Structure of The Inca Empire
The Inca society had a very clear social structure. At the head of it was the emperor or Sapa Inca who was responsible for taking care of his people. It was his responsibility to provide food and shelter to his people. Even though everyone in Inca society had to work very hard for their food, no one was homeless or hungry in the Inca Empire.
One of the most amazing facts about the Incas is that since people were well-fed and safe from the bad weather and the natural disasters, crime was virtually non-existent in the Inca Empire. As a result, there were no prisons in the Inca Empire. However, there were a few different crimes that the Incas recognized. The most heinous crimes in the Inca Empire were murder, insulting the Sapa Inca, and insulting the gods. The punishment for these crimes was rather straight-forward and harsh. They would throw the guilty person off of a cliff. Thanks to the severity of the punishments, people refrained from committing crimes.
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