When the INCA died, all of his servants were killed and many of his lesser wives to serve him in the afterlife. The INCA would be mummified and placed in his house as a temple for people to go to and ask advice and pray. The Incas did not mummify people like the Egyptians. They would wrap the body up into the fetal position and prepare it. The preparation was not as elaborate as the Egyptians because the cold would slow down the decaying process greatly. The outer shell of the mummy would have a large base, and a small head.

Mita: The Service Tax

Even though the Incas did not have money, they did hold value to materials. Value in Incan society was measured in work performance. The one material tax that all Incan clans had to pay was an agricultural tax. Farming terraces were divided into three sections. The first section went to the capital for the INCA. The second section was for religious festivals. The third section was for the people to live on. So, 2/3 of their work was taxed. Don't ever complain what the government takes out of your paycheck, it is no where near as bad as this.

Work performance was important to the Incas. Men would be required to do labor for the empire. Most work was just maintenance and building construction. The most important road maintenance was for the bridges that connected the empire to other mountains without going into valleys. The Incans were excellent builders. In 1438 the Incas made a fortress that equaled the size of an average Egyptian pyramid in 8 years. Pyramids could easily take 20 years. On top of this, realize that resources were scarce and none of their work was done on a flat surface.

Others worked as litter carriers The Incas did not have the concept of the wheel, and they did not have beasts of burden like the cow, horse, etc. They did have llamas. A llama is just a larger, hairier deer. The more skilled jobs were accountants, silversmiths, architects, engineers, priests, and bodyguards. Women could be required to weave for free.

Crime and Punishment The Incan government was a functioning theocracy, INCA was god and man. He was also the head of the government. Therefore, any crime committed was committed against the INCA, and that made it a religious offense too. The Incas did not have many rules, but what they have was strictly enforced.

Murder, violence, theft, lying, adultery, and laziness were all crimes against the INCA.

Murder:The punishment was death unless in case of self-defense, or rage against and adulterous wife.

Theft:Death, especially if one took from storage chambers. There was no want in Incan society since and Incan could take as much as they need.

Laziness:First, public humiliation. Second offense stoning to death. Good thing West Mifflin doesn't have this rule, class size would be very low.

Drunkenness:Getting drunk was only allowed during festivals. Any other time it was treated as laziness.

Other severe punishments could to be sent to the mines, plantations, or straight exile from society.

The Royal Roads

The Incan road system covered nearly 10,000 miles of roads. The Romans covered 56,000 miles. The Incan road system traveled from Argentina to Colombia, through the deserts and the Andes. The Incans had two types of roads; Royal roads, which only matters of government could use, and Coastal Road, which every one else could use.

The roads were unique because the standard length was 24 feet wide. The Incas had no uniform system of measurement so for them to be this consistent was amazing. The roads were all banked because then soldier would know to march in formation. The roads also had mile markers. Distances were measured from town to town, unlike Rome who measured all distances in relation to the capital.