Andes Mountains: North to south were the Andes Mountains - home of the Inca civilization. The mountains dominated Incan society. The mountain peaks were worshiped as gods. 

The Andes created a natural barrier between the coastal desert on one side and the jungle on the other. The snow-capped mountains were full of deep gorges. 

The Inca built bridges across the gorges so they could reach all parts of their empire quickly and easily. These mountain gorges were natural barriers. If an enemy approached, the Incas could simply burn the bridges.

Amazon Jungle: On one side of the Andes was the Amazon jungle. The Incas must have entered the jungle occasionally, as they did know about the many valuable things that could be found in the Amazon, like wood and fruit and natural medicines. But they never established settlements there. They had no desire to live in the jungle. The Incas expanded north and south instead.

Coastal Desert: Between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean is a coastal desert 2000 miles long and between 30-100 miles wide. The desert provided a wonderful natural barrier. Some scientists think it is the driest place in the world. It is not completely barren. There are fertile strips where small rivers and streams run from the Andes mountaintops to the sea.

All of the individual responsibilities were recorded by bureaucrats through a system called the Quipu. It was an intricate form of communication using colored strings tied into knots. This was the Inca alternative to writing since they did not develop a written language of their own. Emperor Pachacuti also created religious holidays for his people. Six times a month the entire empire was shut down for festivities, lectures and parades.

The Inca were incredible builders and architects. Their irrigation systems, palaces, temples, and fortifications can still be seen throughout the Andes. They had an efficient road system which was mainly used for government and military purposes. Couriers would carry messages in the form of knotted cords all over the empire. Unfortunately, this road network was also used by the Spanish, which greatly facilitated their conquest of the Inca Empire.

Let’s first look at what it was like to be in the military.  The military was run by the emperor and the training began at the early age of 16 years old.  The training was severe and the rules were very strict with a very organized hierarchy.  Please see the table below to understand how the hierarchy worked and also get an idea of the size of the armies.

The warriors were trained to be fearless at all times and never surrender on the battlefield.  The soldiers were told by their leaders to never feel alone as their Gods were with them on the battlefield.  When military training was finished the emperor chose the best warriors to be an elite Inca fighting force – some of these warriors went to battle and others were part of a large group of warriors (up to 5,000) that stayed to protect the emperor and his family.  The warriors celebrated the end of their training with a celebration called a Huarachcu; this is where they received the following: a metal badge, a uniform called Huara, military shoes called Ojotas and big earrings which represented their military rank.  The other famous celebration for the warriors was when they returned triumphant from battle, for example after their battle with the Chancas – on their return the warriors were offered food, drink and first aid.

The Incas had a very successful battle strategy.  The army was split into two groups – each one specializing in a different weapon.  One group was the slingshot warriors (considered the most skillful) and the other group used a variety of weapons.  The slingshot warriors had to be able to hit their target up to 70 metres away.  They also carried Boleadoras – much like the slingshot, these were designed to take out the first enemy line on the battlefield.

The second groups of warriors were those that fought face to face with the enemy using Truncheons, Axes and Spears made of both copper and stone.  The Spears were not thrown but used to stab the enemy when they were close enough. The Inca warriors wore very strong protection.  They carried shields made of both copper and wood and  a copper chest apron with hardened leather and cotton on the inside for comfort.  Also they wore copper tibia protectors as well as arm protection.  The warriors wore helmets made of either copper or wood that were decorated with feathers – the amount of feathers on their helmet determined their military rank.

At the same time as this was happening in South America many other things were happening around the world.  The Ming Dynasty for example was putting the finishing touches to the Great Wall of China which still exists today.  Over in Europe John Cabot departed from England travelling west and eventually spotted land which today is considered to be the Northern coast of China.  He returned to England in 1497 to tell the King of his discovery.