Resumen

The Inca Empire - the greatest pre-Columbian empire on the American continent - extended from Ecuador to central Chile for more than five thousand miles. Its capital was Cuzco established in the high Peruvian Andes. This highly advanced civilization developed a counting system used to run the empire - in particular, to build the 14,000 mile road structure and monumental architecture. Some of the algorithms believed to be used by the Inca to do computations using a yupana, an ancient calculating device, will be presented, as well as classroom activities for the course “Mathematics in Non-European Cultures” for non Mathematics and Science majors offered at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.