The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE. The Inca Empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south. It was the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time.
Undaunted by the often harsh Andean environment, the Incas conquered people and exploited landscapes in such diverse settings as plains, mountains, deserts, and tropical jungle. Famed for their unique art and architecture, they constructed finely-built and imposing buildings wherever they conquered, and their spectacular adaptation of natural landscapes with terracing, highways, and mountaintop settlements continues to impress modern visitors at such world-famous sites as Machu Picchu.
History
As with other ancient Americas cultures, the historical origins of the Incas are difficult to disentangle from the founding myths they themselves created. According to legend, in the beginning, the creator god Viracocha came out of the Pacific Ocean, and when he arrived at Lake Titicaca, he created the sun and all ethnic groups. These first people were buried by the god and only later did they emerge from springs and rocks (sacred pacarinas) back into the world. The Incas, specifically, were brought into existence at Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) from the sun god Inti; hence, they regarded themselves as the chosen few, the 'Children of the Sun', and the Inca ruler was Inti's representative and embodiment on earth. In another version of the creation myth, the first Incas came from a sacred cave known as Tampu T'oqo or 'The House of Windows', which was located at Pacariqtambo, the 'Inn of Dawn', south of Cuzco. The first pair of humans were Manco Capac (or Manqo Qhapaq) and his sister (also his wife) Mama Oqllu (or Ocllo). Three more brother-sister siblings were born, and the group set off together to found their civilization. Defeating the Chanca people with the help of stone warriors (pururaucas), the first Incas finally settled in the Valley of Cuzco and Manco Capac, throwing a golden rod into the ground, established what would become the Inca capital, Cuzco.
The rise of the Inca Empire was spectacularly quick. First, all speakers of the Inca language Quechua (or Runasimi) were given privileged status, and this noble class then dominated all the important roles within the empire. Thupa Inca Yupanqui (also known as Topa Inca Yupanqui), Pachacuti's successor from 1471 CE, is credited with having expanded the empire by a massive 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The Incas themselves called their empire Tawantinsuyo (or Tahuantinsuyu) meaning 'Land of the Four Quarters' or 'The Four Parts Together'. Cuzco was considered the navel of the world, and radiating out were highways and sacred sighting lines (ceques) to each quarter: Chinchaysuyu (north), Antisuyu (east), Collasuyu (south), and removedisuyu (west). Spreading across ancient Ecuador, Peru, northern Chile, Bolivia, upland Argentina, and southern Colombia and stretching 5,500 km (3,400 miles) north to south, 40,000 Incas governed a huge territory with some 10 million subjects speaking over 30 different languages.
The Inca Empire was founded on, and maintained by, force, and the ruling Incas were very often unpopular with their subjects (especially in the northern territories), a situation that the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores), led by Francisco Pizarro, would take full advantage of in the middle decades of the 16th century CE. The Inca Empire, in fact, had still not reached a stage of consolidated maturity when it faced its greatest challenge. Rebellions were rife, and the Incas were engaged in a war in Ecuador where a second Inca capital had been established at Quito. Even more serious, the Incas were hit by an epidemic of European diseases, such as smallpox, which had spread from central America even faster than the European invaders themselves, and the wave killed a staggering 65-90% of the population. Such a disease killed Wayna Qhapaq in 1528 CE, and two of his sons, Waskar and Atahualpa, battled in a damaging civil war for control of the empire just when the European treasure-hunters arrived. It was this combination of factors - a perfect storm of rebellion, disease, and invasion - which brought the downfall of the mighty Inca Empire, the largest and richest ever seen in the Americas.
The Inca language Quechua lives on today and is still spoken by some eight million people. There are also a good number of buildings, artefacts, and written accounts which have survived the ravages of conquerors, looters, and time. These remains are proportionally few to the vast riches which have been lost, but they remain indisputable witnesses to the wealth, ingenuity, and high cultural achievements of this great but short-lived civilization.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Inca_Civilization/
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Anyone have tips for teaching someone to ride a bike?
My partner hasn't really ever learned to ride(they think maybe they rode a tiny kids bike like 30 years ago). I'm super proud of them for trying this late in life, they want to be able to ride an e bike to work.
I'm probably not the best person to teach this because I haven't ridden in ages. I did ride a bit yesterday and was able to do it still, even if I wasn't super smooth. I watched that video of Tom Scott learning to ride and a few tutorials. Seemed helpful.
We already have an ebike for them from a family member who used it twice and then stored it. It's an aventon level 2 and I had it checked out by a bike shop. I'm not sure if they should try learning on that right off the bat, or if it makes more sense to buy a cheap or used regular bike to learn on.
I really want this to go well. My partner never learned to drive because they have epilepsy, so being able to do their own transportation is a huge step for them. They're just getting out of a long period of depression and it makes me happy to see them excited about something again.
Turns out it was much easier than expected. They were riding decent within minutes and after about 20 minutes of practice they felt good enough to ride alone.
I think we'll do one more practice session somewhere hilly to work on gears and brake skills, but they are basically good enough to ride to work now, I think.
The way they teach kids now is with balance bikes. Essentially pedalless bikes you kick along with your feet.
The idea being it's more important to develop that sense of balance than pedalling. Kids used to get bikes with training wheels and could get around but never learned how to stay up.
Make sure your partner can put their feet flat on the flground from a seated position on the bike, and get them to kick along and get used to coasting, knowing they can brake or put their feet down whenever they feel like they need to.
Once they're confident in that you can put the seat up and focus on the pedalling. Getting the sense of balance first makes it easier because they will already know how to stay up.
That was my initial plan and actually what we're trying later today. I removed the pedals and they're going to just focus on getting the balance part and using the brakes. If that goes well, I'll put the pedals back on and try some starts on grass(because their helmet hasn't arrived yet).
If you live close to the ocean, ride on the hard sand near the waterline. If you fall it's the best surface to stack on and when you pick up speed it is solid. Learning to ride on grass has the issue of being uneven, learning on concrete can be a massive hurdle.
Having someone just to hold the bike and hold them while walking forwards while they practice balancing is the first part.
Start learning by trying to just sit and balance by shifting weight, not by turning the handlebars (e.g. their instinct when they're falling left may be to turn their handlebars to the right).
Idk this is how I would teach not sure how I'd get to teaching pedalling and braking just yet.