Science and Technology
The Inca’s greatest technological skill was engineering. The best example is their amazing system of
roads. The Incas built roads across the length of and width of their empire. To create routes through
steep mountain ranges, they carved staircases and gouged tunnels out of rock. They also built
suspension bridges over rivers. Thick rope cables were anchored at stone towers on either side of the
river. Two cables served as rails, while three others held a walkway.
In agriculture, the Incas showed their technological skill by vastly
enlarging the system of terraces used by farmers in the Andes. The
Incas anchored their step-like terraces with stones and improved
the drainage system in the fields. On some terraces, they planted
different crops at elevations where the plants would grow best.
To irrigate crops, the Incas built canals that brought water to the
top of the terrace. From there, the water ran down, level by level.
People in South America still grow crops on some Inca terraces.
The Incas also made remarkable advances in medicine. Inca
priests who were in charge of healing, practiced a type of surgery
called trephination. Usually the patient was an injured warrior.
Priests cut into the patient’s skull to remove bone fragments that
were pressing against the brain. As drastic as this sounds, many
people survived the operation.
