Above Illustration: inca people gathering crops http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/clark-photography
Social Organisation
The Inca society was based around strict social classes. Few people had the opportunity to improve their social status. Once a person was born into a social class, that was where they would remain for the rest of their life.
The Inca Empire was ruled by the ancestors of the original Inca people. These were the people who originally established the city of Cusco.
The structure was as follows:
Below is a good summary of the social classes:
The Inca society was based around strict social classes. Few people had the opportunity to improve their social status. Once a person was born into a social class, that was where they would remain for the rest of their life.
The Inca Empire was ruled by the ancestors of the original Inca people. These were the people who originally established the city of Cusco.
The structure was as follows:
- Sapa Inca - The emperor or king was called the Sapa Inca. He was at the top of the Inca social class and was considered a god in many ways.
- Villac Umu - The high priest was just behind the Sapa Inca in social status. The gods were very important to the Inca and the high priest spoke directly to their most powerful god, the Sun god Inti. Often he was the brother of the Sapa Inca
- Royal Family - The direct relatives of Sapa Inca were next in line. They received high positions in the government. The primary wife of the Sapa Inca was the queen called the coya.
- Inca - The noble class, or Inca class, was made up of the people directly descended from the people who first established the city of Cusco. They were called the Inca. They lived lives of luxury and held the best positions in the Inca government.
- Inca-by-privilege - As the empire grew, the emperor needed more people he could trust in high positions in the government. There weren't enough of the original Inca to rule. So a new class was created called Inca-by-privilege. These people were considered nobles, but not as high in class as the true Inca.
- Commoners and the ayllu - the general public
Below is a good summary of the social classes:
This table shows the different levels of social classes within the inca civilisation.