For protection, the Inca built large stone fortresses near or beside their cities instead. In times of danger, people could run inside the fortress. The rest of the time, the fortress housed some of the military. The military checked everyone coming in or out of the cities.

How did the Inca protect their empire?

To maintain an empire which stretched right down the western coast of South America and permit the rapid deployment of troops wherever they were needed, the Incas built a network of fortresses connected by an even more extensive road network.
 

What natural defense did the Inca have?

Natural barriers for the Inca included a vast coastal desert, the rugged peaks of the Andes Mountains, and the dense Amazon Jungle. What is a natural barrier? The Inca civilization began in the second largest mountain range in the world, the Andes Mountains.

Did the Incas have armor?

The Incas wore quilted or padded armor and used shields and helmets made of wood or bronze. Their armor was generally intended to intimidate as much as protect: it was often very colorful and beautiful.
 

What weapons did Incas use?

Incan warriors were armed with clubs, bows and arrows, bronze or bone-tipped spears, wooden slings and stones, and stone or copper-headed battle axes. They were masterful at hand-to-hand combat and deadly precise with their projectile weapons.
 

Were the Incas violent or peaceful?

The Incas were a relatively peaceful people. Rather than conquering neighboring people by force and warfare, the Incas used diplomacy to convince them to join the empire.

What did the Incas do to survive?

They developed resilient breeds of crops such as potatoes, quinoa and corn. They built cisterns and irrigation canals that snaked and angled down and around the mountains. And they cut terraces into the hillsides, progressively steeper, from the valleys up the slopes.
 

Why didn’t the Incas have guns?

Pizarro’s conquistadors were armed with the latest and greatest in weapons technology – guns, and swords. The Inca, by comparison, had never worked iron or discovered the uses of gunpowder. Geography had not endowed them with these resources.

What made the Inca army so powerful?

The Inca army’s military effectiveness was based on two main elements: logistics and discipline. In order to facilitate the movement of their armies, the Incas built a vast road system. Staging areas were set along the roads so the troops and animals could rest and weapons could be obtained (Colcas).

What made the Incas so powerful?

The Incas were magnificent engineers. They built a system of roads and bridges across the roughest terrains of the Andes. Through their system of collective labor and the most advanced centralized economy, the Incas were able to secure unlimited manual labor.

Was the Incas army strong?

The Incan military was as organized as it was powerful. It consisted of nearly 200,000 soldiers that served as a public service organization, bringing food and materials from one region of the country to another and trained specialists who would contribute to the growth of the empire.
 

Were the Incas warlike?

The Inca were very warlike and often attacked their neighbors to take their land. In this way, the Inca Empire, which started out small, grew to be very large. In fact, the Inca Empire was the largest empire ever in South America, and one of the largest in the world.

What did the Incas do with dead bodies?

They either mummified or buried the dead. The mummies were put in the fetal position and wrapped in layers of cloth. They also wrapped them with food, tools, and other items. Then they put them in cave burial chambers that could be reopened to either add more mummies or take them out for a special event.
 

How did the Inca expand and control their empire?

The Incas conquered a vast territory using reciprocity or alliances. Once the Incas arrived in a new region they tried to establish a relationship with the tribe’s head. He offered gifts such as wool clothing, coca leaves and mullu (shell believed to be food for the Gods).

What two things did the Incas build to help them manage their empire?

The Incas built a large system of roads that went throughout their empire. The roads were usually paved with stone. Stone steps were often built into steep areas in the mountains. They also built bridges where the roads needed to cross rivers.

What are 3 things that the Incan empire achieve?

The Incas built roads across the length of and width of their empire. To create routes through steep mountain ranges, they carved staircases and gouged tunnels out of rock. They also built suspension bridges over rivers. Thick rope cables were anchored at stone towers on either side of the river.

What were 3 things that Inca were most known for?

The Inca began as a small tribe who steadily grew in power to conquer other peoples all down the coast from Columbia to Argentina. They are remembered for their contributions to religion, architecture, and their famous network of roads through the region.
 

How tall were Incas?

The Inca, like most native people in Mesoamerica, were not very tall people. Based on excavations at Machu Picchu, the average height of a man was 5 feet 2 inches, and women, on average, were 4 feet 11 inches. The conquistadors were not much taller—perhaps 5’3″.

What made the Incas so powerful?

The Incas were magnificent engineers. They built a system of roads and bridges across the roughest terrains of the Andes. Through their system of collective labor and the most advanced centralized economy, the Incas were able to secure unlimited manual labor.