Inca Culture

1249 Words3 Pages

The Incan city of Cusco was home to many large, ornately designed temples which were key in the process of human sacrifice within this culture. Two great examples of this are Coricancha (the Temple of the Sun), and Saksaywaman. Incan architecture played a pivotal role in maintaining political stability within this Andean culture through sacrifice. Large rectangular temples were constructed in order to display both political dominance and pay homage to the gods. The Inca’s stone masonry was very meticulous, conveying the importance of the cosmos within their culture through iconographic symbolism. Coricancha, located in the Incan capital of Cusco, was home to the Temple of the Sun. This was the most sacred place within Incan culture, and considered Also inside this temple was a gold statue of Inti which was crusted with jewels. This statue depicted Inti as a small boy named Punchao, which also stands for midday sun. Rays of sunlight project from the head of this statue, and snakes and lions protrude from the bottom of the body of the statue. The ashes and organs of previous Inca rulers were actually stored in the hollow stomach of this statue. In another chamber of the temple, a golden mask of Inti was hunk from the wall. Rays of sunlight stretch out all over the head of this Saksaywaman is considered a fortress because of its high position above Cusco within the mountains. In 1536 the Manco Inca layed siege to Cusco, and Saksaywaman was crucial in the defense of the city. Saksaywaman had two massive towers behind its front wall. The front wall was comprised of massive stones, indicative of the high prowess behind Inca masonry. The inside of this complex resembles a labyrinth, with many storage rooms and passageways. Unfortunately, today much of this site has been destroyed, and we only have archaeological ruins and ancient texts to study it

Show More
Related

  • Comparison of The Aztecs and The Incas

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Aztec’s and the Inca’s have many similarities, such as religious beliefs, and views about gods. Inca’s views about training for war are different, and the Aztec’s artifacts are somewhat different. The farm land compared to the Inca’s differs also, because where the Aztec’s lived the land was elevated about ten thousand feet. The religious beliefs of the Aztec’s were bloody; they believed they had to make many sacrifices to appease the gods. The sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Mystery Of Chaco Canyon

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Mystery of Chaco Canyon introduces viewers to a very complex structure that was built by Ancient Pueblo Indians. Although there is no language to explain the structure’s meaning and purpose, researchers were able to read their architecture as a language. Four themes that were extracted from the structure were, the native’s immense understanding of astronomy, the use for the structure, the level of spirituality that the structure represents, and migration from Chaco Canyon.

    Read More

  • How Did Western Culture Influence The Aztec Culture

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    The stone was found in 1790 by accident in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City, when workmen who were excavating the earth to pave the plaza. It was discovered facedown, so it only seemed as if it was a large blank stone until it was turned over and the intricate details and deity was finally shown. It was decided to be set on the side on the Catedral Metropolitana, where it was abused and misunderstood for nearly a century. It wasn’t until 1885 and almost a hundred years of abuse by the people of Mexico, it was decided to be placed in the Museo Nacional. Although researchers at the time knew the importance of the Aztec stone, “students of Mexican antiquities, the founders of our archaeology, eagerly urged the successive governments to shelter and protect this significant monument of the pre-Hispanic past from the ignominy that it had suffered. According to chroniclers of the period, when it was displayed, the ignorant masses hurled filth and rotten fruit at the calendrical relief. Even the soldiers who at a certain time occupied the centre of Mexico—because of the constant violent tumult and foreign invasions that characteriz...

    Read More

  • Aztec Civilization

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most art and architecture in the Aztec civilization was based on their religion. There are many brightly colored murals and paintings on walls and on bark which depict religious ceremonies, along with large idols of gods. One of the most amazing and famous of the...

    Read More

  • Egypt And Aztecs Comparison Essay

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Temples or Pyramids, or any building that does it’s job to honour the gods. Aztecs and Egyptians had a symbolic reasoning for showing extravagant ways to show appreciation the gods that do so much for them. For social classes, this isn’t something that really changes along with ages or civilizations. Although there might be slight differences, the main focal point is that there was the people who were recognised as lower class and middle and high class. Aztecs and Egyptians both had a leader or high class person that they follow to the end. Whether for Aztecs that was priest or Egyptians a Pharaoh, no matter what, Someone had more authority than a person that was just trying to make a living by building. Appearance can come in many shapes or forms when it comes to your civilization. Though what connects them all together is that Egyptians and Aztecs cared clearly about how they appeared. Even though Egyptians took care of more makeup and accessories, Aztecs cared more hygienic by bathing twice a day. Putting them together, you see that appearance is key to when comes to a civilization. It what them all connected but also uniquely

    Read More

  • Exploring the Astronomy of the Ancient Inca Empire

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    The city is divided in the middle, Cuzco North and Cuzco South and within those regions is split into two sectors also named “Suyus.”(Aveni, 138). The city is the heart of the Inca Empire and represents the “Four Quarters of the Universe.” (Aveni, 138). There were four main roads that left Cuzco, one from each corner, those roads served at dividing lines among the Suyus. Northeast Suyus is Chinchaysuyu, Southeast is Antisuyu and southwest is Collasuyu and northwest is named Cuntisuyu (Aveni,

    Read More

  • Incas and Aztecs

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    Like the Athenians and Spartans of ancient Greece, the Inca and the Aztec bear resemblance to the two other ancient cultures. The Athenians and Incas were both more interested in developing their Arts as well as their military, but both the Spartans and the Aztecs were highly interested more so in warfare than religion. Although the Aztec and Inca never had to face each other, it is interesting to compare them because of their dominant positions of extremely large and powerful tribes. I am going to compare and contrast religion and the social system along with their system of government, which can be put together.

    Read More

  • Mayan, Inca, and Aztec Civilizations

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations each originated from Latin America. The Mayans lived in southern and central Mexico, other Mayans lived in Central America in the present day countries of Belize, Guatemala, and ancient Honduras. The Incas lived along the long coastal strip, and in the high peaks and deep fertile valleys of the Andes Mountains, and along the edges of the tropical forest to the east; this would be the country of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina in present days. The Aztecs were from Aztlan located in both north and northwest Mexico.

    Read More

  • Inca Civilization Remember

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Incas used a wide range of building materials including three types of stones: Yucay limestone, green Sacsayhuaman diorite porphyry, and black andesite. Each block of stone could have weighed many tons. They had to be cut in order to be transported using nothing more than harder stones and bronze tools. Most of the structures were just one room with the outer walls sloping in about 5 degrees to make the walls look higher and thicker then they actually are, this is called ‘the trapezoid form’. In every large Inca settlement there was a structure called a ushnu, this was a sort of platform, that symbolized the Inca state rule across the whole empire and they were used for state-ceremonies, judicial purposes, and processions. Since the Incas never invented the wheel they had no use for roads so instead of traveling along roads they used bridges made of rope and pathways to get from place to place conveniently in the mountains. The Incas had a number of other architectural advancements, but these are just the general ones that the common people would

    Read More

  • Mesoamerican Empires

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Olmecs are the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization. Around 1200 B.C. the Olmecs originated as a primitive people living and farming on the shores of Mexico (Stanton 91). Soon, however, they began to build cities such as San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Monte Alban. These “cities” were religious centers where people gathered to worship, and were not populated (Stanton 91). The first of these centers, San Lorenzo, was built c. 1150 B.C., on a flat topped, man-made mountain. It was mysteriously abandoned 200 years later (Stanton 92-93). La Venta, built between 1000 and 600 B.C., sat on an island in a swamp (Stanton 93). Later, around 500 B.C., Monte Alban, which was used as a religious center even after the Olmecs faded, was built on an immense mountain (Stanton 93). The cities were made up of temples and plazas, and decorated by monumental stone heads, which weighed up to 50 tons (Stanton 93)! These heads probably represented their early kings and had distinct helmets (Kingfisher 32). It is incredible how the Olmec people transported the stone from the distant mountains to La Venta, near the shore, without the aid of work animals or carts. It appears that the Olmecs did this grueling work for their gods willingly, as there is no evidence of forced labor (Stanton 93). The Olmecs probably worshipped the jaguar, as it appears so often in their artwork. There are also many e...

    Read More

  • Teotihuacan Essay

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    A land dominated by two colossal pyramids and an extensive sacred avenue, Teotihuacan became considered a spiritual land to most inhabiters. Teotihuacan itself means, “the place where the Gods were created” or “where men became Gods”, reflecting the belief of the Aztecs that the creation of the universe occurred on that very land. (Jarus, Owen. 2012) The Temple of Quetzalcoatl along with the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon, all stand out as the monumental distinguishing characteristics of Teotihuacan. Standing sixty three meters tall and two hundred and fifteen meters square in the heart of the city, shadowed by the massive mountains of Cerro Gordo you’ll find the Pyramid of the Sun. (History.com Staff. 2009) It’s no secret that to this day it is one of the largest structure ever erected during the ancient Americas. Traveling west among the silhouettes of the mountains lies the second largest structure in Mesoamerica, the Pyramid of the Moon. Holding equal historical and religious value as the ...

    Read More

  • Machu Picchu

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each block weighs fifty tons! They would thatch the roofs with tree trunks and straw. After the buildings were constructed, the Incan people would smooth the stones with sand, mud, and clay to make the structures look polished. The people who inhabited this ancient site considered it to be magical because of the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River. The Temple of the Condor was a place of worship where the head of the condor was used as an altar for sacrifices.

    Read More

  • The Features of Mayan Architecture

    2445 Words  | 5 Pages

    The buildings were decorated with masks and crests carved in stone and stucco and generally painted red, by the large amount of limestone available in Peten Maya lands , lime and mixing was easily produced impressive allowing the construction of pyramids and palaces , usually in the Preclassic pyramids were crowned with three wooden temples and thatch , known as " triadic complexes " , during the classic had one or two rooms with the Maya vault feature . To make walls , they used blocks in two rows , then topped with small stones , and other materials, in Tikal , El Naranjo , Wala ' , and many other sites , found pieces of steles and obsidian as filler , as previous structures . Imperfections in the path layers were offset stucco decorations . What we see now , is the last stage of construction, but in reality it is not uncommon to find more than 5 construction phases . The Stucco Limestone was made ​​with cooked, and mixed with an organic glue extracted from a tree known locally endemic Holol Petén, mixed with lime and sascab, a natural mineral like limestone. The building known of the Maya is the Temple I or the Great Jaguar in Tikal, which served at the famous Tomb Hasaw K'a...

    Read More

  • Tenochtitlan, The Capital City Of The Mexico City

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    At Mexico City's heart, the Plaza de la Constitución, lies the site of Tenochtitlan's original central plaza and market, and many of the original paths still correspond to modern city streets. The famous Aztec calendar stone was located inside these ruins. This stone is 12 feet in diameter and weighs over 20 tons with lots of intricate detailing. It was once located mid-way up the great temple before Cortés's invasion.

    Read More

  • Machu Picchu

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within the Inca religion they strongly believed in numerous Gods and focused on their purpose for being on earth. There is a theory that Inca believe that a God know n as Viracocha created the earth and the humans. Some women were known as oracles who they believed to be connected with the Gods (Rosen 1). According to Rosen, they strongly believed that if they were obedient and faithful to the Gods, then their nature and society around them would be balanced (1). Compared to western Christianity culture; there is belief that God created hell and earth along with all living things. Christianity believes in worshipi...

    Read More

More about Inca Culture

Open Document