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In the Inca culture, they believe in many gods. 

The most important god in their culture is Inti, the 

sun god. His father, Viracocha, was the “creator 

god” of the Inca and made the Earth. The leader, 

or emperor, of the Inca was Sapa Inca, he ruled 

over the Incan empire. Willaq Umu was the high 

priest and was usually the brother or close relative 

of the Sapa Inca. The queen of the Inca Empire 

was called Coya, and she was the primary wife of 

the Sapa Inca.

What David and Macy found out about how the Inca people kept their records was that of all the people of 

the Bronze-Age civilizations, the Incan people were one of the only to not have a written language. The 

only possible form of record-keeping the Inca people had was cryptic knotted strings known as “khipu.” 

Macy and David also found out that the Inca used their calendar to mark religious festivals as well as the 

seasons so they could plant their crops at the correct time of the year. They studied the sun and the stars 

to calculate their calendar.

The Inca people had many weapons for war. They 

also took up   European military technology; 

horses, swords, and armor. The more popular 

weapons that they used: the estolica - spear 

thrower, a sling, bolas, spears, macana - wooden 

shaft with large heavy object on the top, bow and 

arrow, clubs, and axes. They had armor which 

consisted of a helmet, a shield, and a thick, 

padded cotton tunic with wooden plates to 

protect the back.

The farmers in the Inca culture used a lot   of tools for 

their farming. One of the tools they used was a Chaki 

Taklla, this was a foot plow and was made from wood 

into a pole with a curved and sharpened point. This 

point was usually made from metal or stone. Another 

tool that they used was a Rawk’ana. A Rawk’ana is a 

hoe with a thin sheet of wood attached to it that was 

no higher than 40 cm. This was used to harvest 

tubers, to remove weeds, and to sow small seeds. 

They also used a method called irrigation, this means 

that they changed the water courses so they would 

be supplied with more water.

Macy and David then found out something that surprised them. The 

Incas had different jobs. The classes they had were: advanced 

hydraulic engineering, agricultural techniques, marvelous architecture, 

textiles, ceramics, and iron works. When the Incas conquered a people 

they took the leader's sons and taught him to rule the Inca way. They 

then became curacas.

At the bottom of Inca society were the craftsmen and farmers. Inca 

craftsmen made objects of gold, silver and copper. Stonemasons cut 

stone bricks for building using stone hammers and wet sand for 

polishing. Inca stone bricks fitted so closely they did not need mortar 

to hold them together.

When they were learning about society, they learned that 

there were several social classes. On the very top was 

the Sapa Inca, a man considered as a god in many ways. 

Just below him was the Villac Umu. He was the high 

priest who could speak directly to the sun god, Inti. Then 

came the royal family, the direct relatives of the Sapa 

Inca. After them comes the nobles. They are descendants 

of the founders of Cuzco. Lastly, there was the Ayllu, or 

the commoners. They were made up of multiple families 

that would work together almost as one.

Now that they have learned a lot about the Incas, 

they can start to make a poster to show to their 

class so that they can learn about the Incas too!

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