When the explorer Hiram Bingham III encountered Machu Picchu in 1911, he was looking for a different city, known as Vilcabamba. This was a hidden capital to which the Inca had escaped after the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1532. Over time it became famous as the legendary Lost City of the Inca.

Machu Picchu

The Inca lived in the Andes Mountains in South America. Their range stretched from southern Chile through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador and into southern Colombia.

Quechua

1. Allianchu/Allianmi. Where else to start but with a typical Quechua greeting. Allianchu (pronounced: Eye-eee-anch-ooo) is a way of saying, “Hello, how are you?” If you are to learn one Quechua phrase, we recommend this one.

Quechua, Quechua Runa, South American Indians living in the Andean highlands from Ecuador to Bolivia. They speak many regional varieties of Quechua, which was the language of the Inca empire (though it predates the Inca) and which later became the lingua franca of the Spanish and Indians throughout the Andes.

The Inca did not call themselves the Inca. They actually called themselves the Tawantin Suyu, which means the “Four United Regions,” or “Land of the Four Quarters.” By 1500 CE, the Inca Empire was huge.

The Inca religion centered on a pantheon of gods that included Inti; a creator god named Viracocha; and Apu Illapu, the rain god. Impressive shrines were built throughout the kingdom, including a massive Sun Temple in Cusco that measured more than 1,200 feet in circumference.

There was almost no crime in the Inca empire because punishment was swift and harsh. If you were caught stealing, for example, your feet and hands would be cut off. If you lived through your punishment, you received a new job. Everyone in the Inca had a job.

Llamas

The main punishments for committing crimes involved the criminal being killed. If caught cursing the gods or insulting the Incans, the criminal would be thrown off of a cliff. If an Incan was caught stealing or cheating, they would be beaten with stones. If caught a second time, they would be beaten to death.

Most common people were farmers, artisans, or servants. There were no slaves in Inca society. Lower-class men and women farmed on government lands, served in the army, worked in mines, and built roads.

The “most unusual aspect of the Inca economy was the lack of a market system and money,” wrote McEwan. With only a few exceptions, there were no traders in the Inca Empire.

The Incas played a game called Tlachti which is a mixture of soccer, kickball and basketball. The game consists of trying to smack a leather ball through a hoop 27 feet high using body parts like the upper parts of the arm, hip and thigh.