Inca Empire · 1438-1533

Qhapaq Ñan: the Inca road system

Roads of some 30,000 to 40,000 km tied the Inca Empire together, across deserts, mountain passes and gorges. Students follow the roads, the relay runners who raced along them and the grass bridges that are still rebuilt every year.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, AD 1500 to 400 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Roads of some 30,000 to 40,000 km tied the Inca Empire together, across deserts, mountain passes and gorges. Students follow the roads, the relay runners who raced along them and the grass bridges that are still rebuilt every year.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe the Inca road system and explain what it was used for.
  • Explain how chasqui relay runners and tambo way stations moved messages and goods.
  • Locate Quito, Cusco and the Q'eswachaka bridge on the map.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1500

One empire, one network

Open the map in 1500 and zoom out over the Inca Empire. Two main roads ran north to south, one along the coast and one through the mountains. Trace both with your finger. Which was harder to build?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1500

A bridge of grass

Zoom in on the Apurímac River south of Cusco. Here Quechua communities rebuild the Q'eswachaka bridge from woven grass every year. Why might a rope bridge work better than stone in a deep gorge?

Open this view on the map
c

400 BC

Roads compared

Turn on Trade Routes, set the year to 400 BC and find the Persian Royal Road. Then return to the Andes in 1500. Both empires used relay messengers. Which road system crossed rougher land?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Only people on state business could travel freely on the roads. Why would a ruler limit who travels?
  2. Chasqui runners carried messages in relays of a few kilometres. Why use relays instead of one fast runner?
  3. Tambos, way stations with food and shelter, stood about a day's walk apart. What would they need to store?
  4. The Inca used llamas, not wheeled carts. Why might wheels be of little use in the Andes?
  5. Spanish conquistadors also marched on Inca roads. How can a road help both an empire and its enemies?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Darius the Great, who built the Persian Royal Road with relay riders about 2,000 years before the Inca. Afterwards, compare his road with the Qhapaq Ñan: which problems did both rulers solve, and which road crossed harder land?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.