Atlas of Hispanic-American History

present-day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile,
and Argentina, it resembled a long snake
curling through the Andes Mountains.
Like the Aztec empire, the Inca
empire was highly stratified and central-
ized, with a large farming population
subordinated to a small ruling class. The
empire was theocratic, with the Inca
emperors regarded as representatives of
the sun god. Animal sacrifices figured in
religious ceremonies; so did human sacri-
fices, though not to the extent practiced
by the Aztec. The Inca built a network of
stone roads to unify the empire, raised
great temples and palaces, dug irrigation
canals, built rope suspension bridges, and
fostered development in art and music.
They used the abacus and kept numerical
records using knotted strings.

Other South American

Peoples

In the northern Andes, the Chibcha of

what is now Colombia were politically

powerful, with numerous towns, villages,

palaces, and temples. The Chibcha exhib-

ited great artistry in making gold orna-

ments and cultivated extensive agriculture

and trade. In the northern tropical forests

of what is now Venezuela, by contrast, the

various Native peoples lacked political

or cultural unity.

In southern South America, in what

are now Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina,

and Chile, the Native peoples were simi-

larly diverse and decentralized. Many

lived in villages and subsisted on hunting,

gathering, and fishing. Two of these

THE ROOTS OF A PEOPLE 11

Machu Picchu (Corbis)