Who Were the Incas?

A growing empire
                 The Incas lived inthe Andes Mountains in South America.  The Andes are on the western coast of South America.
                  In the 1200s, the Incas built the city of Cuzco, which later became their capital city.
                  Two hundred years later, after a battle with a rival tribe, Pachacuti, the Inca ruler, began to lead the Incas in taking over much of the area.
Advanced government
                  The Inca developed a government that allowed their culture to grow.  For instance, they paid taxes to the government.  There was no money system, so they paid with work, food they had grown or items they had made.
                  Incas did not have a written language, so they kept track of their taxes and items by tying knots in colored string.  Inca people "read" these Khipus (KIH-poos) by counting the knots and examining the types of knots, the colors of the strings and the positions of the knots on the strings.
Strong religious life
                  The powerful Incas insisted that the tribes they conquered worship Inca gods.  The main god was the sun god, Inti.  They also worshipped mountains, streams and other natural places.
Battling other tribes
                  When they could, Incas bought other tribes' loyalty with gifts of food or fine cloth.  But if they had to fight, they used large armies with fearsome weapons, including clubs, spears, slingslots and batle axes.
                   As they marched off to war, Inca warriors would sing and chant while playing loudly on drums and trumpets.  They hoped the loud noise would frighten the enemy.