History of the United States I / Unit 1 USH1 0011 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Inca Road System
Captions available
The idea
Inca means lord or ruler in Quechua. Their road system rivalled Rome's, running about twenty-five hundred miles from modern Colombia to Chile, with cities at fourteen thousand feet.
In practice
Chasquis running continuous relays along roads kept clear by stationed workers.
Where people slip
Stepped roads suited steep slopes but not wheels, and the Inca did not use axle-mounted wheels at all.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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