Pre-Columbian culture of the Central Andean area of South America; the early Inca people are recognizable in the archaeological record of the Late Intermediate Period (ca. 1000-1476 CE), from the 12th century onwards. The Inca established their capital at Cuzco (Peru) in the 12th century. They began their conquests in the early 15th century and within 100 years had gained control of an Andean population of about 12,000,000 people. The The Inca empire flourished in the 15th century and early 16th century. At the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Inca ruled an empire that extended along the Pacific coast and Andean highlands from the northern border of modern Ecuador to the Maule River in central Chile. Inca ceramics are readily recognizable from their forms and decoration; bronze metal tools and weapons were widespread, and there was a distinctive Inca architecture at various locations throughout the empire. For the culture and artifacts dating to the empire during the period 1476-1534 CE, use "Late Horizon."

Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus

http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300017326