The largest empire in the pre-Columbian Americas. It flourished in the Andean region of South America, encompassing parts of modern-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. The empire, with its capital at Cuzco, was at its zenith from 1438 until 1533 (the date of first contact with the Spanish). The Incans built their empire without the wheel, iron-working, currency, or a written language (although they did develop the quipu, a sophisticated communication and information-storage device).

Incan artists created small-scale sculptures out of gold and silver, representing people, animals, and plants. Textiles, spun from alpaca wool, were highly valued. The highest-status Inca textile that survives today is a royal tunic with geometric designs (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC). Inca architecture is based on stone walls, constructed with a distinctive masonry technique, in which irregular quadrilateral or polygonal blocks were shaped to fit together tightly, without mortar. Web resources here and here.

Machu Picchu, Peru. Inca Empire. Ca. 1450.