Geography Problem Solving: the Andes Mountains and the Inca

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Geography Problem Solving: The Andes Mountains and the Inca

Directions: You are the kingPachakuti of the Inca Empire around 1440 CE. Your civilization is quite extensive, spanning almost 2500 miles from tip to tip, consuming approximately 300,000 square miles, and located in the heart of the Andes Mountains. Use the documents provided to understand more about the location of your civilization and the roots of certain problems.

Step 1: Where do these problems come from? Or, why is this a problem in your civilization?

Step 2:How do you solve that problem to keep your civilization thriving? Why will it work?

Problem: As king, you must… / Solution: What will you or your civilization establish to solve this problem?
Keep remote regions from rebelling against you or breaking your laws
Root of the problem: ______ / Solution: ______
Why it works: ______
Protect the borders of such a large empire from external and internal threats
Root of the problem: ______/ Solution: ______
Why it works: ______
Provide food for your people in rocky, steep mountainsides
Root of the problem: ______/ Solution: ______
Why it works: ______
Communicate with and supervise the far reaches of your empire despite extremely high mountains and deep valleys and almost 20 different languages
Root of the problem: ______/ Solution: ______
Why it works: ______
Ensure that your people are unified despite speaking almost 20 different languages
Root of the problem: ______/ Solution: ______
Why it works: ______
Keep your Empire unified economically through trade and/or other means in order to prosper
Root of the problem: ______/ Solution: ______
Why it works: ______

Summary:

What was problematic about the terrain of the Inca Empire? What issues arose as a result of the Andes Mountains?

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In the late fourteenth century, the Inka were a small community in the area of Cuzco(KOOS-koh), a city located at an altitude of 10,000 feet in the mountains of southern Peru. In the 1440s, however, under the leadership of their powerful ruler Pachakuti(pah-chah-KOO-tee)(sometimes called Pachacutec, or “he who transforms the world”), the Inka launched a campaign of conquest that eventually brought the entire region under their authority. Under Pachakuti and his immediate successors, TopaInka(TOH-puh INK-uh)and HuaynaInka(WY-nuh INK-uh)(the wordInkameans “ruler”), the boundaries of the empire were extended as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin.

Adapted from: World History 7thed (Duiker/Spielvogel)

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