![[Pasted image 20250201170522.png]] In South America, the most highly developed and complex society was that of the Inca, whose name means “lord” or “ruler” in the Andean language, [Quechua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechuan_languages). At its height in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Inca Empire, located on the Pacific coast and straddling the [Andes Mountains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes), extended over twenty-five hundred miles. It stretched from modern-day Colombia in the north to Chile in the south and included cities built at an altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level. The [Inca Road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_road_system) system, built and then regularly repaired by workers stationed at varying intervals along its length, rivaled that of the Romans and efficiently connected the sprawling empire. Since there were no horses or oxen in the Americas to pull carts, the Inca, like all other pre-Columbian American societies, did not use axle-mounted wheels for transportation. Not having to account for wheels allowed them to build stepped roads to ascend and descend the steep slopes of the Andes, which worked well for pedestrians. These roads allowed traders to carry products on the backs of llamas and enabled the rapid movement of the highly-trained Incan army. Also like the Romans, the Inca were effective administrators. Runners called [Chaskis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasqui) traversed the roads in a continuous relay system, ensuring quick communication over long distances. The Inca had no system of writing, however. They communicated and kept records using oral traditions and a system of colored strings and knots called [[Quipu]]. --- Next: [[1.13 The Mita]] Back: [[1.11 Human Sacrifice]]