The Inca: mountain roads, terraces and the quipu

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   The cell marked ? is blank. Noah's chart has a blank: how long was the Inca road system?

   • About 30,000 to 40,000 km
   • A few km
   • Exactly 40,000 km
   • About 300 to 400 km along the main road

2. Read this first

   Inca roads and runners

   Topic	What we know
   Length	about 30,000 to 40,000 km of roads (sources give different totals)
   Travel	people and goods moved without wheels or draft animals
   Chasquis	relay runners who took over at stations a few km apart (most chroniclers say about 2.5 km; others give 6 to 9 km); estimates of a day's travel range from up to 300 km to 360–480 km
   Tambos	roadside buildings with supplies and lodging

3. 2.

   How far apart were the chasqui stations, Pia asks?

   • About 25 to 90 km
   • About 30,000 km
   • About 2.5 to 9 km, by different accounts
   • About 300 to 480 km
4. 3.

   Tala reads that chasquis were relay runners. What is a relay?

   • A message sent by ship
   • Runners ride horses
   • Runners take turns, each running a stretch
   • One runner runs the whole way
5. 4.

   Zee reads that travel used no draft animals. What is a draft animal?

   • A wild animal
   • An animal that pulls carts or plows
   • An animal kept as a pet
   • A bird that carries messages
6. 5.

   Suppose a message went 300 km each day. How far would it go in 100 days, and how does that compare with the road range, Bo asks?

   • 3,000 km: far below the range of the roads
   • 400 km: a short trip
   • 30,000 km: the low end of the range
   • 40,000 km exactly: the high end
7. 6.

   Suppose stations were 2.5 km apart. How many handoffs would a message have in 300 km, Esme asks?

   • About 302
   • About 120
   • About 12
   • About 750
8. 7.

   Is the road system longer than 25,000 km, Jun asks?

   • Yes, under either total
   • Just when the total is 40,000
   • It can't be known
   • No, under either total
9. 8.

   Why use relay runners instead of one runner, Kira asks?

   • Fresh runners kept the message fast
   • One runner is faster over a long distance
   • Relays slowed the message
   • Runners rode wheeled carts
10. 9.

    Why build tambos along the roads, Luz asks?

    • To store wheels
    • To mark the end of the roads
    • Travelers needed supplies and rest
    • To stop people traveling
11. 10.

    Milo's friend says Inca roads were built for carts. What is the best reply?

    • Disagree: no one used the roads
    • Disagree: travel was without wheels
    • Agree: roads mean carts
    • Agree: llamas pulled carts along the roads