Couriers in the Inca Empire: Getting Your Message Across. [Lesson Plan].

This lesson shows how the Inca communicated across the vast stretches of their mountain realm, the largest empire of the pre-industrial world. The lesson explains how couriers carried messages along mountain-ridge roads, up and down stone steps, and over chasm-spanning footbridges. It states that couriers could pass a message from Quito (Ecuador) to Cuzco (Peru) in 10 days, about the same time as it takes today's postal service to deliver a letter between these two cities. The lesson plan: provides an introduction; cites subject areas, time required, and skills developed; poses a guiding question; informs teachers about preparing to teach the lesson; offers four suggested classroom activities and an activity to extend the lesson; lists selected Websites; and addresses standards alignment. (NKA)