Spanish rule ended or transformed many elements of the Andean civilizations notably influencing religion and architecture.
Today climate change is melting glaciers that allowed the Incan canal system to work, threatening current water supplies throughout the Andes.
Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
Inca expansion (1438–1533) |
Andean civilization probably began c. 9500 BP. Based in the highlands of Peru, an area now referred to as the punas,
the ancestors of the Incas probably began as a nomadic herding people.
Geographical conditions resulted in a distinctive physical development
characterized by a small stature and stocky build. Men averaged 1.57 m
(5'2") and women averaged 1.45 m (4'9"). Because of the high altitudes,
they had unique lung developments with almost one third greater capacity
than other humans. The Incas had slower heart rates, blood volume of
about 2 l (four pints) more than other humans, and double the amount of
hemoglobin which transfers oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the
body.
Archaeologists have found traces of permanent habitation as high as
5,300 m (17,400 ft) above sea level in the temperate zone of the high
altiplanos. While the Conquistadors
may have been a little taller, the Inca surely had the advantage of
coping with the extraordinary altitude. It seems that civilizations in
this area before the Inca have left no written record, and therefore the
Inca seem to appear from nowhere, but the Inca were a product of the
past. They borrowed architecture, ceramics, and their empire-state
government from previous cultures.
In the Lake Titikaka region, Tiwanaku
is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important
precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and
administrative capital of a major state power for approximately 500
years.
Sacsayhuamán, the Inca stronghold of Cusco |
A view of Machu Picchu |
Banner of the Incas. |
Modern flag of the city of Cuzco. |
In modern times the rainbow flag
has been associated with the Tawantinsuyu and is displayed as a symbol
of Inca heritage in Peru and Bolivia. The city of Cusco flies the
Rainbow Flag. Even the Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo (2001–2006) flew the Rainbow Flag in Lima's presidential palace.
According to the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, the flag only dates to the first decades of the 20th century. But in his 1847 book A History of the Conquest of Peru, "William H. Prescott
... says that in the Inca army each company had its particular banner,
and that the imperial standard, high above all, displayed the glittering
device of the rainbow, the armorial ensign of the Incas."
A 1917 world flags book says the Incan "heir-apparent ... was entitled
to display the royal standard of the rainbow in his military campaigns."Incan empire aided by global warming:The warmer temperatures allowed the Inca to irrigate agricultural terraces fed by canals bringing glacial melt-water to the fields. Additionally, the Inca planted trees on the hillsides to prevent erosion and increase soil fertility.
This all led to a surplus of food
(maize and potatoes primarily), which in turn enabled the Inca to expand
their empire, building an extensive road network and the grand
structures by which they are remembered today.
Also, the warming which allowed the Inca to thrive was of a different
scale entirely than that which is predicted and occurring today. It
followed an extended period of drought -- which likely brought down the
previous Wari empire -- and ultimately made the region more habitable.
Today climate change is melting glaciers
that allowed the Incan canal system to work, threatening current water
supplies throughout the Andes. Throughout most of the world climate
change will move the climate towards being less hospitable not more.
*Note: all pictures thankfully shared from various sites on internet..
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