Inca Empire

1438–1533 empire in South America

'''Mit'a''' () was a system of mandatory labor service in the Inca Empire, as well as in Spain's empire in America. ''Mit'a'' (federal work) was effectively a form of tribute to the Inca government in the form of labor, i.e. a corvée. Tax labor accounted for much of the Inca state tax revenue; beyond that, it was used for the construction of the road network, bridges, agricultural terraces, and fortifications in ancient Peru. Military service was also mandatory.

Vilcashuamán or Vilcasguaman (from Quechua Willka Waman, "sacred hawk") is the capital of Vilcas Huamán Province, Ayacucho region, Peru. It is located at an altitude of 3,490 m on the eastern slopes of the Andes. It is located on an ancient archaeological site.

thumb|right|The Maskhaypacha being used by Huascar The Mascapaicha or Maskaypacha (Quechua: "Maskhay", search and "Pacha", space or time) was the royal crown of the Emperor of the Tawantinsuyu, more commonly known as the Inca Empire.

indigenous tribe in South America

manuscript

thumb|250px|Ushnu in Vilcashuamán, Ayacucho, Peru. In the Inca Empire the ushnu (other spelling usnu, sometimes usñu) was an altar for cults to the deities, a throne for the Sapa Inca (emperor), an elevated place for judgment and a reviewing stand of military command. In several cases the ushnu may have been used as a solar observatory. Ushnus mark the center of plazas (main squares) of the Inca administrative centers all along the highland path of the Inca road system.

thumb|Tiwanaku held at the Cleveland Museum of Art A '''' (also spelled kero, quero, and locally also qero) is an ancient Andean cup used to drink liquids like alcohol, or more specifically, chicha. They can be made from wood, ceramics, silver, or gold. Metal or gold cups are also called aquilas''. They were traditionally used in Andean feasts.

cultural heritage site in Peru

A kuraka (Quechua for the principal governor of a province or a communal authority in the Tawantinsuyu), or curaca (Hispanicized spelling), was an official of the Andean civilizations, unified by the Inca Empire in 1438, who held the role of magistrate, on several hierarchical levels, from the Sapa Inca at the head of the Empire to local family units.

thumb|Intihuatana (the corner broken) Intihuatana is a ritual stone in South America associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca. Its name is derived from the local Quechua language. The most notable Intihuantana is an archaeological site located at Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu, Peru. The name of the stone (coined perhaps by Hiram Bingham) is derived from Quechua: inti means "sun", and wata- is the verb root "to tie, hitch (up)" (huata- is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua -na suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Hence inti watana is literally

The Lupaca, Lupaka, or Lupaqa people were one of the divisions of the ancestral Aymaras. The Lupaca lived for many centuries near Lake Titicaca in Peru and their lands possibly extended into Bolivia. The Lupacas and other Aymara peoples formed powerful kingdoms after the collapse of the Tiwanaku Empire in the 11th century. In the mid 15th century they were conquered by the Inca Empire and in the 1530s came under the control of the Spanish Empire.

thumb|220px|right|The Inca empire and the roads which traversed it thumb|right|A complex of 27 Qullqas above Ollantaytambo, Peru A qullqa ( "deposit, storehouse"; (spelling variants: colca, collca, qolca, qollca) was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. These were large stone buildings with roofs thatched with "ichu" grass, or what is known as Peruvian feathergrass (Jarava ichu). To a "prodigious [extent] unprecedented in the annals of world prehistory" the Incas stored food and other commodities which could be distributed to their

Tumebamba, Tomebamba (hispanicized spellings), or Tumipampa (Kichwa for "Knife Field", Tumi: Knife, Pampa: Field) was a main regional city in the Inca Empire. Tumebamba was chosen by the Emperor Huayna Capac (ruled 1493–1525) to be the Inca northern capital. The city was largely destroyed during the Inca Civil War between Huáscar and Atahualpa shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in 1532. The Spanish city of Cuenca, Ecuador was built on the site of Tumebamba although a portion of the Inca city is preserved at the archaeological sites of Pumapunku and Todos Santos.

imaginary lines that start from Cusco, in order to organize sanctuaries and huacas around them

square in Cusco, Peru

economic activity based on the breeding and hunting of animals in the Inca Empire

cultural heritage site in Peru

mountain in Argentina

Mathematical knowledge possessed by the Incas

Cochasquí is one of the most extensive and most important complexes of pre-Columbian and pre-Inca Empire ruins in northern Ecuador. The site lies some northeast of Quito in Pedro Moncayo Canton in Pichincha Province at above sea level.

national museum in Lima, Peru

rural parish of Pichincha, Ecuador