History of the Incas

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/history-of-the-incas

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the imperial name (quechua)?Tawantin Suyu, meaning 'The Four United Regions'
2. What is the imperial period?Roughly 1438 to 1533
3. What was the Inca Empire and where did it start?The Inca Empire began as the Kingdom of Cuzco in the early 13th century, founded by Manco Cápac. It grew into a huge kingdom across the Andes, covering parts of modern Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia.
4. Who was Pachacuti and what did he do?Pachacuti was the ninth Sapa Inca who started a big expansion in the mid‑15th century. He turned the kingdom into a powerful empire that stretched thousands of kilometers.

Pre-Columbian: Referring to the history and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of European explorers and colonizers.
Conquistador: European (primarily Spanish and Portuguese) explorers and soldiers who conquered and colonized large parts of the Americas from the 16th century onwards.
Assimilation: The process by which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a dominant group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group.
Neo-Inca State: A successor state to the Inca Empire, established by Inca survivors in Vilcabamba after the Spanish conquest.