Early_European_Ideas

Early South American Civilizations South America is currently known as Latin America. Most people living in this continent today are Hispanic. South America is much different now than at the beginning of its history, though. Carl is known as the first city in South America, and historians believe that it was abandoned between 2000 and 1500 B.C. A major urban center arose around 800 years later in irrigated fields in the valley of the Moche River. After the collapse of the Moche civilization around A.D. 700, a new empire, the Incas, rose to power. Pachacuti got the Incas through rough times and launched a campaign of conquest that brought the entire region of South America under their control. The Incas lasted until 1535, when Pizarro captured the Incan capital at Lima and created the Spanish Empire. Throughout the Incan Civilization, three ideas were vital: architecture, astronomy, and math. Architecture in the City of Carl was fairly simple. All buildings, apartments, and grand residences were built of pure stone. This type of architecture was common in Moche, and pottery portrayed warriors, prisons, and sacrificial victims. During the time of the Incas, rest houses and storage depots were placed on roads, made out of stone. Suspension bridges were built over ravines and waterways. The buildings of Cuzco were built of close-fitting stones with no mortar. No mortar was used due to the fact that the use of mortar in constructed buildings made a city more likely to be destroyed during an earthquake. However, the most brilliant architecture of Incan civilization was made over the abandoned city of Machu Picchu. This city is at an elevation of 8,000 feet and was built on a lofty hilltop surrounded by mountain peaks above the Urubamba River. In this city, a large stairway leads to an elegant stone known as the “hitching post of the sun.” The architecture was becoming more and more advanced as years passed by, making Incan cities more scenic. The Incans were also known for their advancements in astronomy. As mentioned previously,”the hitching post of the sun” was made in the city of Machu Picchu. This was used as a solar observatory, allowing the Incans to study astronomy. During the sun festivals held in June and December, the people of Machu Picchu gathered here to chant and say prayers to Inti, who was known as the sun god to the Incans. The Incans worshiped many other gods from the sky. Therefore, astronomy and the study of the sky and space was a huge part in Incan culture. The quipu was the basis of Incan mathematics. This device was not a calculator, but it contained strings that represented numbers. There were different knots throughout the strings to represent numbers. The quipu made math possible to the early South Americans, as well as sending messages throughout the Incan history. Although the quipu is not commonly used today, the Incans developed a system of arithmetic that helped create the way we study math to this day. Overall, the Incans were brave, intelligent people who invented numerous bright ideas. The fascinating architecture of the early South Americans made their cities extremely memorable. The astronomy helped Incans understand beyond the world they lived on, and allowed them to set a basis for the worship of their gods. Incan math was creative and meaningful, allowing communication and sales throughout their society much less complex. The Incans went down in history, and were known for these three ideas. The Spanish, who conquered the Incans in 1535, used these ideas in their society. This allows one to assume that Incan architecture, astronomy, and mathematics were excessively important.