Ecuador Inca Empire : Ecuador  

Ecuador Inca Empire - Travel guide

Ecuador

Ecuador Inca Empire

The Inca empire was the largest and most advanced empire on the American continent before its discovery by Europeans. At its height, the empire extended from northern Ecuador to central Chile and from the Andes to the coast. The Incas were originally a Peruvian highland tribe who spoke Quechua language. According to a mythological account, they came from the south and settled in the Cuzco basin, to which they were at first confined. Apparently the Incas expanded their rule on neighboring tribes about 1100 A.D. The empire reached its peak in the fifteenth century.

The Inca empire developed an economy based on an intensive terracing of mountain slopes and irrigation. This civilization, which developed urban centers, a road network, and a well organized and efficient administration, achieved remarkable skills in metal refining and metal working, architecture, weaving, pottery, and other arts. The Spanish conquest brought to an end the Inca empire in 1532