Los Incas Ensayo_Video y Preguntas

Cultural Background – Los Incas
Sra. Christianson
It was around 1430 when the Chankas, a tribe west of Cuzco,
decided to expand its territory and started a war with the Incas.
The Inca ruler Viracocha was consumed by fear. The Chankas
were bloody in combat and gave cruel punishments to war
prisoners. Viracocha decided to accept the defeat if, the Chankas
spared the royal family. Viracocha couldn’t think to see his family
tortured or skinned and thought he could never save his people
either.
Viracocha’s son, Pachacutec (shaker of the earth), could not believe his father was
considering sacrificing his people. Pachacutec acted. He called on the gods to help him.
The Incas believed in a great many gods and goddesses, most of whom could be
counted upon to help or hinder mortals in their wars and other mortal affairs. Legend
says the gods decided to help Pachacutec save his people. In fact, the Incas believed
their leaders were semi gods, and Pachacutec was the son of the Inti (Sun god). The Incas
were saved from total destruction when Pachacutec rallied the army, went into battle,
and won the day.
After the battle, Pachacutec crowned himself Inca, replacing his
cowardly father as the new leader of the Incan people. Pachacutec
turned out to be a great leader. He rebuilt the city of Cuzco. It is
known that Cuzco in the time of the Incas was a city in the shape of a
puma; also that it was geographically the belly button of the Inca
Empire. He rebuilt the army and set about conquering neighboring
tribes.
Pachacutec did not kill the people he conquered. Instead, he invited
them to become part of the Inca Empire. He built schools. He built
fabulous cities and fortresses. He placed his royal relatives in
positions of power in the government throughout the Empire. The
Inca rulers who followed him did the same. Everyone in the empire
was well fed, and no one was homeless. Everyone helped in the
construction sites or farming; the people did community work for the empire or for the
people as a taxation form. The Incan age of expansion had begun. In less than 100
years, the Inca would grow to become one of the largest empires of all time. It went from
Colombia and Venezuela to Chile.
The Incas, also called the Children of the Sun. never invented
the wheel. Yet, high in the rugged Andes Mountains of South
America, the Incas built the best planned cities in the ancient
Americas. The Incas laid out their cities in a grid. Each city had
a central plaza. That plaza was surrounded by public buildings
and temples. A palace was built for visiting the Inca Ruler.
There was housing for priests and nobles. Houses were even
built for the common people. To build walls, the Incas used a
mortarless construction with irregularly shaped rocks that were
placed together much like a jigsaw puzzle. In addition to shaping the rocks to fit
together on the wall face, they also carved or grinded the rock surfaces that met to have
concave and convex surfaces.
elcielo–sky/heavemlarueda-wheellapiedra-stonepierdeeselopuestodeganaesclavo-slaveimpuestos-taxesdios-godandenes-terraces
This type of construction is very resistant to earthquakes. The lack of mortar allows
rocks to move independently during an earthquake and since the rocks were irregularly
shaped they would fall back into their proper place as the earthquake subsided.
In contrast to the Inca stonework, the Spanish used a brick and mortar construction. This
had the advantage of being much easier and quicker to build, but would fall apart with
any major earthquake. For example, in Cusco the Spanish built a church on top of
Qoricancha (the temple of the sun); it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1950 while the
Incan foundation remains untouched to this day.
The Incas built beautiful cities. They liked their buildings to
match the surrounding landscape, since mother earth was one
of their gods. The Incas were master builders. Buildings were
constructed to last, and to survive the rain, wind and
earthquakes. Doorways and window niches sloped inwards
slightly at the top. Roofs were also slanted. Incan buildings are
amazing structures. The architecture was formal yet simple. The Incas loved things made
of gold and silver. But they also liked things to be simple. The outside doors leading in
to their homes were often highly decorated. Inside, they had simple paintings on the
walls and solid gold decorations throughout their homes.
The Incas also were great farmers. They built extensive agricultural cultivation and
irrigation systems that still work today. These produce food that is originally from
America like: potato, sweet potato, corn, tomato, coffee, cocoa (chocolate), pumpkin/
squash, peppers (sweet or spicy), avocado, papaya, pineapple, coca, vanilla, tobacco,
groundnuts, sunflower, pecans, cashews, and more; just like they did 5 centuries ago!
The Incas had to cope with floods that could destroy their agricultural fields and homes
in the valleys. Higher ground protects the plantations from disaster. In Spanish, the
stepped agricultural systems are called "andenes", which comes from the word Andes.
The ancient city of Machu Picchu, which means Old Peak in the Quechua language, was
discovered in 1911 by the American Hiram Bingham. Archaeologists refer to Machu
Picchu as the “City in the Skies” and as the “Lost City of the Incas”. Some believe it was a
country estate. Some believe it was a religious retreat. Some believe it was a city high in
the Andes Mountains that was somehow overlooked by the Spanish. Regardless of the
theories, Machu Picchu is an astounding sight of breath taking beauty and intriguing
architecture. In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted one of the seven wonders of the New
World. Thousands of people all over the world visit Machu Picchu every year. Even
today, people are wondering…
• How did the Incas move stone blocks from the pit to their
construction site? At Sacsayhuaman, a wall that surrounds
Cuzco and resembles the teeth of a puma, many of the
blocks are huge and weigh over 100 tons. At Ollantaytambo,
Pachacutec’s manor, the pit was several kilometers away on
the other side of the valley!
• How were the stones cut and shaped so that they would fit
together perfectly? In the best stonework, the gap is so small
that it would be hard to slide a sheet of paper between the
stones!
• How were the blocks lifted and placed into position? The
Incan’s did not have access to pulleys and the blocks could
weigh many tons!
Sra. Christianson
Despues de leer Los Incas-Cultural Background y ver el video de Machu Picchu responde en
forma complete. Todas las respuestas estan en el ensayo (essay), en el libro o en el video.
1. ¿Por qué es famosa la ciudad de Cuzco? Y ¿Cómo es la ciudad del Cuzco?
2. En Cuzco ¿Cómo construyeron sus casas y edificios los españoles? y ¿Por qué?
3. Al día siguiente de visitar la ciudad del Cuzco. ¿A dónde van a ir los Baker?
4. ¿Cómo van a ir los Baker a las ruinas de Machu Picchu?
5. ¿Quién era el jefe o el lider de los incas? ¿Qué pensaban los incas de su jefe?
6. En el Imperio Incaico ¿Quiénes hicieron las casas y templos? ¿De qué hicieron las casas y
templos?
7. La historia dice que Pachacutec le daba casa y comida a todos y por eso todas les personas
querían ser incas también. En tu opinión ¿Piensas que en verdad los incas trabajaban por
impuestos, o piensas que quizás eran esclavos, o quizás trabajaban porque tenían miedo de sus
dioses?
8. En tu opinion, ¿Crees que los Incas tenian rituales y hacias sacrificios humanos en Machu
Piccu? *cree- s/he believes
9. Hay personas que piensan que los extra terrestres hicieron Machu Picchu porque los Incas
nunca inventaron la rueda y no tenían instrumentos modernos. ¿Qué piensas?
10. ¿Quién era Hiram Bingham?
11. Machu Picchu es un lugar impresionante y bello. Machu Picchu tiene otros nombres. Escribe
Verdadero o Falso: _______
*La Casa de los Hijos del Sol ________ *La Ciudad en los Cielos __________*Montaña Vieja _______
*La Ciudad Perdida de los Incas _______*Los Andenes de Oro
12. Cuzco está muy alto en los Andes y por eso no hay mucho oxigeno en el aire. El Corazon de
las personas trabaja mas para poder respirar. A veces las personas se desmayan (faint). En Peru
le llaman “soroche” cuando una persona se desmaya porque no puede tener suficiente (enough)
oxigeno. EN la cultra Inca, las personas masticaban (used to chew) or tomaban mate (un té) de
coca para poder tener mas energia y para poder respirar (breath) mejor. La coca no es una
droga, es una planta como la menta o el oregano. ¿Te gustaria tomar un mate de coca?
*****Acerca del libro “Los Baker van a Peru” *********
13. En tu opinión ¿Piensas que los Baker van a tener más mala suerte?
14. En tu opinión ¿Qué va a pasar con los Baker y la cabeza reducida en Machu Picchu?
elcielo–sky/heavemlarueda-wheellapiedra-stonepierdeeselopuestodeganaesclavo-slaveimpuestos-taxesdios-godandenes-terraces