Ancestors of the Inka

Long before the Inkas reigned, there lived in these regions men like giants,
as large as the figures sculpted in stone reveal.

—Pedro de Cieza de León, chronicler of Peru, 1553

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    The sun gate, Tiwanaku, Bolivia, 2009. Photo by Wayne Smith, NMAI.


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The Beginnings of the Road

Introduction

  • QUECHUA
    LANGUAGE
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    Select highlighted words to hear them spoken in Quechua.


    The Inka spoke the Quechua language, which is still spoken today in the Andes.

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Fourteen thousand years of unique cultures preceded the Inka in the Andes. Four in particular—Chavín, Tiwanaku, Wari, and Chimú—influenced Inka traditions and laid the groundwork for the rise of the Inka Empire and the monumental Qhapaq Ñan.

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Chavín | 1,000 BC–AD 100

Chavín was the first great unifying culture in the Andes. Its scattered settlements, the largest of which was Chavín de Huántar, shared a distinctive art, architecture, and way of life that influenced a number of ethnic groups.

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Tiwanaku location

Tiwanaku | AD 400–1000

Located near Lake Titicaca, the city of Tiwanaku was the core of a culture whose religion, art, and architecture influenced much of the southern Andes. To foster trade and the distribution of resources, the Aymara people of Tiwanaku built roads all the way to the Pacific Coast.

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Wari | AD 600–1100

The Wari were empire builders. From the highlands of Peru, they expanded their territory and spread their religion. To control remote areas, the Wari established provinical centers and an extensive road network.

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Location

Chimú | AD 1100–1400

The well-organized Chimú capital, Chan Chan, was the largest city in the Western Hemisphere in its day. The Chimú built a road network, canals, and irrigation systems to help them expand along the northern coast of Peru.

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Inka | AD 1200–1533

The Inka began their rise in the early 1200s. Based in Cusco, they grew first into a small kingdom, adapting many practices and policies of earlier cultures. In 1438 Inka rulers began to conquer neighboring territories, eventually creating the largest empire in the Western Hemisphere.

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