Inca Roads Research Paper

The invention of roads by the Incas changed ancient and modern history. The Inca road system was very long and covered over 40,000 kilometers. There was two main road systems that ran from the North to the South and the South to the North. The Inca roads were extremely narrow and they usually ranged from 1-4 meters wide. The building of the roads was very difficult. They did not have surveying equipment so they relied on their brains. They built on their instincts and they used wood, steel, and bronzed tools to construct the roads. Inca roads were like an “ancient highway that created a healthy empire.” (Jane O’Brien) It made it a lot easier to get goods from one side of the territory to the other. 'The Great Inca Road: Engineering an Empire'

There were two main roads that ran from North to South and South to North and the road system covered over 25,000 miles. Inca Engineers were not afraid of any geographic problems. They built over water, swamps, through mountains and deserts. They discovered that it would help to build drains that divert the water off the roads. It helped a lot because it kept the roads from flooding at anytime. The road also would last longer and not deteriorate if it didn’t have standing water on it. When they walked across swamps or wetlands the Incas built the roads on a causeway or they were supported by walls. “Inca engineers were also not afraid by geographic features and built roads across ravines, rivers, deserts, and mountain passes up to 5,000 metres high.” (Mark Cartwright) The Incas could invade so much easier with the road system. They had the advantage because they could follow the roads and attack at night without the enemy knowing. The Incas could claim land easy and fight against other territories and have the advantage. It was also a lot quieter approach. They could be very silent when getting ready to invade. They could trade with many city-states and they could get resources so much more easier. The roads still help nearby territories today such as Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. The invention of the Roads by the Incas helped improve their society

Today as human beings on earth, we use roads very regularly. Just imagine what life would be like without roads. There are 4.2 million miles of roads alone in the US. If the Incas hadn’t invented the roads we would have gotten them later on from the Europeans. “247.8 million cars are estimated to be owned just in the United States.” (Wikipedia) Everyone with a car probably touches a road on a daily basis. They get from home to work or to get their necessities. I know most people touch a road every day at least once. Even on the weekends I still go out of the house at least once. It had made transportation so much more easier. If we didn’t had roads then there wouldn’t be runways for airplanes to land on. That is another way to travel. Truckers use roads everyday to transport goods from one place to another. If we didn’t have roads today than we probably couldn’t get wine from California or blue cheese from Wisconsin. Things would be so much more expensive because they would be limited and they would be very hard to get. If roads weren’t invented then we couldn’t get to the grocery store so easily as we do today. It would so much harder to get imported goods and we would have to garden more. We wouldn’t be able to have cars if we didn’t have roads. Roads have brought so many more great inventions along with it. The car, the airplane, the truck, and bus have all been invented off