Great civilizations rise and fall throughout history. From the Romans and Greeks to the Aztecs and Mayans, each society has its own great achievements and its own abject failures. The discovery of the Americas in the late 15th century led to the creation of many great empires and the disappearance of others. In particular, the Spanish extended their empire to the Americas and conquered all peoples who stood in their way. The Incas are one of these people. To the Spanish, the Incas were mere barbarians lacking a written language, iron-forging skills, and other European customs and practices. Despite lacking the qualities that Europeans considered necessary for an advanced society, the Incas were able to achieve immense achievements within their empire. One of the greatest achievements can be seen in the ancient city of Machu Picchu. The drainage engineering and hydraulic engineering techniques at this site prove that the Incas were no less primitive in their abilities than the Spanish at the time of the American conquest. The Inca Empire began to form in the late 13th century, when the city of Cusco was founded. The legend of the origins of the Inca people tells that four brothers came out of a cave and are considered the leaders of the people because they are the Son of the Sun, or divine in nature. They returned to the city of Cuzco and began to acquire more geographic and political power in the 15th century. The ruler, or Sapa Inca, who created the enormous and complex Inca Empire was Pachacuti. He is the absolute ruler of the empire and is said to be the Son of the Sun. He begins to attack neighboring civilizations and conquers the territory, extending the empire from the current Shield...... middle of paper ......prayer hypothesis. Although they were unable to defend themselves against a militarily more advanced Spanish army; the Incas were a capable people who created a huge empire with great success. Bingham, Hiram. Lost city of the Incas, the history of Machu Picchu and its builders. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948. Print. Brown, Jeff L. “Water Supply and Drainage at Machu Picchu.” History of water. Np, and Web. March 31, 2014. Smith, Julian. “The Fountain Staircase of Machu Picchu”. Archaeology.org. Np, December 29, 2012. Web. March 29, 2014. Wright, Kenneth R., Alfredo Valencia Zegarra, and William L. Lorah. “Drainage Engineering of Ancient Machu Picchu.” Colleges.ksu.edu. Np, Nov.-Dec. 1999. Internet. March 29, 2014. Wright, Kenneth R., Jonathan M. Kelly, and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra. “Machu Picchu: ancient hydraulic engineering.” Ebscohost. Np, October 1997. Web. March 29. 2014.