DONATE
Home Search Lessons & Resources The Inka Empire: What Innovations Can Provide Food and Water for Millions?

The Inka Empire: What Innovations Can Provide Food and Water for Millions?

This online resource provides primary sources, maps, photos, images, and interactive tools to learn how the Inka developed innovations in water management and agriculture to feed and provide water for millions of people across a vast territory. How are these innovations still in use by Indigenous communities in the Andes today?

Includes the videos: Inka Innovative Engineers—Food and Water for Millions and The Power of Water.

For a Spanish-language edition, visit El Imperio Inka: ¿Qué innovaciones pueden proveer alimento y agua para millones?.


How to Use

This resource utilizes the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) for a student-centered inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. In addressing the compelling question, What innovations can provide food and water for millions?, students work through a series of supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources to construct an argument supported by evidence.

While this resource is designed to be a cohesive inquiry, teachers may opt to utilize the supporting questions and tasks in ways that best fit the needs of their students and/or time constraints.

For teaching instructions:

Professional Development | 2020 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Teach-In Series | Food and Water Justice:


In this Resource


Resources from the National Museum of American Indian

Consider these online resources from the National Museum of the American Indian to enrich your learning experience around this topic:

For related teaching resources, explore these Native Knowledge 360° Resources.

For Classroom Use

Type: Online Resource

Format: Inquiry Design Model (IDM)

Grade: 5, 6, 7, 8

Subject: History/Social Studies, Mathematics, Science

Back to top