Inca

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Inca South American people who migrated from the Peruvian highlands into the Cuzco area in c.ad 1250. They consolidated their empire steadily until the reigns of Pachacuti (r.1438–71) and his son, Topa (r.1471–93), when Inca dominance extended over most of the continent w of the Andes. Although highly organized on bureaucratic lines, the Empire collapsed when the Spanish invasion (1532), led by Pizarro, coincided with a civil war between Atahualpa and Huáscar. See also Central and South American mythology; Machu Picchu

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