Inca deity in gold

A photograph of an Inca deity made of gold with turquoise accents by the pre-conquest Inca. The statue has the shape of a human wearing an elaborate headdress with large turquoise earrings (one of which is missing). The deity is holding something in his hands, possibly an ear of maize. The Inca gods were drawn from nature. The three central gods were Inti, the sun god, Viracocha, the god of creation, and Apu, the rain god. The Inca ruled Ecuador late in their history. It was not until the early 1500s that all of Ecuador came under control of the powerful Inca. With political and economic control came religious control. The religion of the Inca state became the official religion of the conquered peoples. Within forty years the Spanish had replaced the Inca as the dominant ruling power, and brought their own . Through both conquests Ecuadorian Indians were able to retain much of their own culture while adopting some of the cultural, religious, and linguistic practices of their rulers.