The Inca settled on the continent of South America and Cuzco was an important city in the large empire. Eventually, this civilization spread to other areas. Today this land is in the modern day countries of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
The people settled close to or in the Andes Mountains. You can see this area on your map - the triangles are the mountains. Some also lived in the nearby desert or rain forest. They tried to avoid the desert and the rain forest - neither of those are great places to live. Living in a desert is too hot and dry and living in a rain forest is too humid and rainy. The rain forest here happens to be the largest one in the world, it is called the Amazon. It is the green color on your map. Some of the ancestors of the Inca people still live in or near the rain forest away from all modern conveniences. We will watch a video of them living "off the grid."
This climate region is mostly warm or tropical. There are some cooler areas in the mountains. These areas are cooler because of elevation or height above sea level - mountains get very cold at the top.
They grew many crops, but the potato was the most important. The potato could be grown at great heights in the Andes Mts. because potatoes can resist frost. The Inca were the first to use the freeze-dried process. They froze the potatoes outside. Then, they walked on them to flatten & get water out. Next, they put them in the sun to dry. The Inca preserved the potatoes whole or ground them up to make flour. They could store them for years without them spoiling. The Inca ate them throughout the year and had a good supply in case other crops were ruined. Explain the "freeze dried" process on our study guide in FOUR steps. In the warm climate at the bottom of the mountains, they grew other crops year round. The Inca planted over 20 varieties of corn (maize) and lots of peppers.
The mountains did provide a farming challenge. To create enough flat land for crops the Inca carved flat steps into the sides of the mountains. This is called terrace farming. The Inca used terrace farming just like the ancient Chinese and it also helped to prevent erosion. Some countries still use terrace farming to grow crops on a mountain. There are some pictures of this to the right.
This video shows a father and his son who live "off the grid" in the Amazon Rain Forest. They have no running water, electricity, or internet. They live a SIMPLE life - just like the first Inca people did almost a thousand years ago.