Inca empire

The system of state administration of the economy of the Inca Empire (reconstruction of S. Kupriienko).

Expansion of the Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo (Spanishization of the place name in Quechua: Tawantinsuyu, lit. 'the four regions or divisions') was the most extensive and developed empire in pre-Columbian America. The period of his domain is known as Incanato or Incario. It arose in the region of the Peruvian Andes between the 15th and 16th centuries as a consequence of the expansion of the curacazgo of Cuzco, being the second historical stage and the period of greatest apogee of the Inca civilization. Covered 2,500,000 km² between the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Amazon rainforest in the east, from the Ancasmayo River (Colombia) in the north to the Maule River (Chile).

The origins of the empire go back to the victory of the multi-ethnic groups, led by Pachacútec, against the Chanca confederation in Yawarpampa, in the middle of the century XV, around 1438. After the victory, the Inca chieftaincy was reorganized by Pachacútec, with whom the Inca Empire began a stage of continuous expansion, which continued with his son, the tenth Inca Amaru Inca Yupanqui, later by from the eleventh Inca Túpac Yupanqui, and finally from the twelfth Inca Huayna Cápac, who consolidated the territories. In this stage, the Inca civilization achieved the maximum expansion of its culture, technology and science, developing its own knowledge and that of the Andean region, as well as assimilating that of other conquered states.

After this period of heyday, the empire went into decline due to various problems, the main one being the confrontation for the throne between the sons of Huayna Cápac: the brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa, which even led to a civil war. Among the Incas, smallpox killed the monarch Huayna Cápac, provoked the civil war prior to the Spanish appearance and caused a demographic disaster in Tahuantinsuyo. Finally Atahualpa would win in 1532. However, his rise to power coincided with the arrival of the Spanish troops under the command of Francisco Pizarro, who captured the Inca and later executed him. With the capture of Cuzco in 1533, the Inca Empire ended. However, several rebel Incas, known as the "Incas of Vilcabamba", rebelled against the Spanish until 1572, when the last of them was captured and beheaded: Túpac Amaru I.

The Incas considered their king, the Sapa Inca, as the "son of the sun." Many local forms of worship persisted in the empire, most of them related to local sacred Huacas, but Inca leaders encouraged the sun cult of Inti - their sun god - and imposed their sovereignty over other cults such as that of Pachamama.

The Inca economy has been described in contradictory ways by scholars: as "feudal, slave-owning, socialist." The Inca empire functioned largely without money and without markets. Instead, the exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals, groups, and Inca rulers. 'Taxes' it consisted of a labor obligation of a person for the Empire. Inca rulers (who theoretically owned all the means of production) reciprocated by granting access to land and property and by providing food and drink at their subjects' celebrations.

History

The first image of the Inca in Europe. Pedro Cieza de León. Chronicle of Peru, 1553.

Cuscan painting of the 20th century with the inca lineages mentioned by the colonial chronicles and their relationship with the real queens of Cusco, which hide behind themselves a complex representation of the incaic social organization.

Historical sources

European chronicles of the Inca empire

The first written traces of the Inca empire are the chronicles recorded by various European authors (later there were mestizo and indigenous chroniclers who also compiled the history of the Incas); these authors compiled the "Inca history" based on accounts collected throughout the empire. The first chroniclers had to face several difficulties in being able to translate the Inca history since, in addition to existing a language barrier, they faced the problem of interpreting a way to see the world totally different from what they were used to. This led to the existence of several contradictions between colonial texts and an example of this is represented by the chronologies of the Inca rulers; thus, in many chronicles the same feats, facts and episodes are attributed to different rulers.

Regarding the chronicles of the Inca empire, it is important to note that their various authors had certain interests when writing them. In the case of the Spanish chroniclers, their interest was "to legitimize the conquest through history", for this reason, in many chronicles it is pointed out that the Incas conquered using violence entirely and therefore had no rights over the conquered territories. In another case, chroniclers linked to the Catholic Church sought to legitimize evangelization by describing the Inca religion as the work of the devil, the Incas as sons of Noah, and trying to identify the Inca deities with biblical beliefs or European folklore. there were other mestizo and indigenous chroniclers who also had an interest in extolling the empire or one of the panacas with which they were related, such as the case of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, in his work "Comentario reales de los Incas" who showed an idealized Inca empire where poverty did not exist, wealth was distributed and resources were exploited rationally.

Inca historical sources

The ayllus and panacas had special songs through which they narrated their history. These songs were performed in certain ceremonies in front of the Inca. These stories, by way of collective memory, constitute the first historical records collected in the chronicles.

Another resource used to record history were some cloaks and tables that contained paintings representing heroic passages. These documents were kept in a place called Poquen Cancha. It is known that Viceroy Francisco de Toledo sent King Felipe II four cloths illustrating the life of the Incas, adding in his own words that "the yndian painters did not have the curiosity of those from there."

In addition, some past events were stored in the quipus, although it is not known how these systems of cords and knots could be used to store historical facts, there are several chronicles that describe that the quipus were used to evoke the deeds of the rulers.

In general, in the Inca empire they remembered the facts that seemed important to them to remember and precision was not necessary. In addition, the rulers could intentionally exclude from the historical records some facts that might upset them. María Rostworowski calls this quality of Inca history a "political amnesia" that was assumed by the common people but was remembered by the affected panacas or ayllus, a factor that contributed to future contradictions in European chronicles about the Incas.

The reinvention of traditions

After the meeting of Hispanic and Andean culture, writing was established as a means of transmission and recording of information; In addition, a process of miscegenation and syncretism began that gave rise to the recreation of traditions and the invention of others.

The contribution for this recreation and invention of traditions was both Hispanic and Andean; This is evidenced in the chronicles of the XVI century where characters such as the case of Tunupa and Huiracocha with the apostles Tomás and Bartholomew, describing them as white, bearded men who taught. Likewise, the European imaginary sought, and even believed to find, "el dorado" and the "country of the Amazons" in the new world. In other cases, they claimed that Cuzco had the profile of an American lion (puma), drawing similarities to some European Renaissance cities that had a lion profile. More recently, in the XX, other elements of this reinvention of traditions appear, such as the cases of the flag of the Inca empire and the Cuzco ceremony of Inti Raymi. It should be noted that all these reinventions, They are part of a natural process in all cultures, but to understand Inca history it is necessary to differentiate which are syncretic or invented aspects and which are not.

Background to the founding of the Inca Empire

During the Horizon Middle waris and Tiwanacotas predominated the region, after the decline of these, gave rise to several centralist societies, including inca.

Around 900 AD. C. begins the decline of the Huari and Tiahuanaco states in the central Andean area. In the case of Huari, the city of Wari begins to lose political power in opposition to some of its peripheral cities, as evidenced by the case of Pachacámac located in front of the sea. While in the case of Tiahuanaco, the process of decline it began in its colonies on the coast in a bloody way, as evidenced by the case of Azapa; in Collao, on the other hand, Tiahuanaco gradually lost its power and while it lost hegemony its population emigrated and founded new towns.

As a hypothesis about the decline of Huari and Tiahuanaco, there is evidence of a prolonged period of drought that lasted from the year 900 AD. C. until 1200 AD. C. in the central Andes. Archaeologically, there is evidence of long population migration processes throughout the Andes during the post-huari and post-tiahuanaco periods. Archeology reveals that in the inter-Andean valleys, the population built their settlements on top of hills seeking security, which tells us of a prolonged period of ethnic confrontations. On the coast, meanwhile, various groups achieved political stability, as evidenced by the cases of the Chimú, Chimú and the Ychsma.

This historical period was embodied in Andean legends and myths in different ways. In the oral traditions of the Andes, reference is made to the fact that in the beginning the peoples made long walks in search of fertile lands, mythical heroes emerged who were, generally, semi-divine and who were guided by supernatural beings (the sun, the moon, etc.). These mythical heroes usually had some power. In this way the figures of Manco Cápac arise, in the founding case of Cuzco; or Pariacaca in the case of Huarochirí.

Mythical origins

Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, drawing by Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala in New Chronicle and Good Governance (1615).

There are two widespread myths about the origin of the Cuzco ethnic group. The most widespread is the Garcilasian version of the couple Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo; the other is the myth of the four Ayar brothers and their four sisters, this last myth is collected by Betanzos, Waldemar Espinoza, Cieza de León, Guamán Poma de Ayala, Santa Cruz Pachacuti and Sarmiento de Gamboa.

The legend of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo

Legend compiled by the Inca chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega in his work "Los comentarios reales de los Incas". This narrates the adventure of a couple, Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, who, sent by the Sun god, left the depths of Lake Titicaca (pacarina: place of sacred origin) and marched north. They carried a golden rod, given by the Sun god; the message was clear: in the place where the golden rod sank, there they would found a city, there they would settle. Precisely the rod sank in the Guanacaure hill, in the Acamama valley; therefore, the couple decided to stay there and informed the inhabitants of those areas that they were sent by the god Inti; and then they proceeded to teach them the cultivation of the land and weaving. In this way the Inca civilization would begin.

The other explanation, not legendary, but historical, and therefore more in line with reality, was proposed by Waldemar Espinoza, who argued as follows: "at the end of the aforementioned century (siglo XII), the Puquina-speaking state, more commonly called Tiahuanaco, was assaulted and invaded by huge waves of humans coming from the south (from Tucumán, Coquimbo) so suddenly and impetuously that they did not leave him time to mount resistance. Such invaders, by all accounts, were none other than the Aymaras." This version makes it clear that the founders of the Inca society came from the south and fled from the Aymara onslaught.

Almost all of the elite Hanan taipicalas were annihilated and the hurin taipicalas, a priestly elite, managed to flee and take refuge on the islands of Lake Titicaca. Then from there the native settlers such as the huallas, alcahuisas, sahuaseras, antasayac, lare, poque, pinaguas and ayamarcas who opposed their establishment advanced to the valley; To overcome this conflict, the Puquina elite carried out multiple strategies, one of which was the marriage alliance, to later become a confederation of states and finally, a great Andean empire.

The legend of the Ayar Brothers

It was compiled by various chroniclers, including Juan de Betanzos, Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, Pedro Cieza de León, Juan Santacruz Pachacuti and Pedro Sarmiento. According to this myth, the story began in three caves located on the Tamputoco hill called Maras Toco, Sútic Toco and Cápac Toco; from which came three groups called Maras, Tampus and Ayar. The Ayar brothers were four men and four women, the men were Ayar Uchu, Ayar Manco, Ayar Cachi and Ayar Auca. Uchu corresponds to chili, Manco to a cereal (Bromus Mango) and Cachi to salt; the onomastics to these three names gives us to understand a cult for the products of the earth. Auca, on the other hand, referred to the warrior attitude.

These 4 siblings were accompanied by their sisters Mama Ocllo, Mama Raua, Mama Ipacura or Mama Cura, and finally Mama Huaco.

The 8 brothers went with their ayllus looking for a place to settle traveling from south to north, on their way they did agricultural work and when they harvested they withdrew looking for another place. First they made their way through Guaynacancha, there Mama Ocllo got pregnant by Ayar Manco. Then they advanced to Tamboquiro, where Sinchi Roca was born. Later they arrived at Pallata and from there to Haysquisrro, these trips lasted several years.

In Haysquisrro they conspired against Ayar Cachi; Fearful of the power he held, since he could knock down hills and form ravines with the shot of his slingshot, they asked him to return to Tambotoco to collect the topacusi (golden vessels), the napa (insignia) and some seeds, once inside an envoy named Tambochacay locked him inside the cave.

Then they continued their trip to Quirirmanta, where they officiated a council deciding that Ayar Manco would be the boss but first he should marry Mama Ocllo; while Ayar Uchu would have to petrify himself and transform into a huaca that would be called Huanacauri, with this act Ayar Uchu would become a sacred being.

The trip continued to Matagua performing the huarachicuy for the first time, after that they pierced the ears of Sinchi Roca. After this, Mama Huaco tried her luck and threw two golden rods, one fell in Colcabamba but failed to penetrate the ground; the other fell in Guaynapata sinking gently. Regarding this event, other authors attribute the launching of the golden rod to Ayar Manco, but all agree that it was in Guaynapata where the founding staff sank.

After that there were several attempts to reach the place where the rod sank, as they were repelled by the natives, until Ayar Manco made the decision to send Ayar Auca to go ahead with his aillu and populate that land. Arriving at that place, Ayar Auca turned to stone, in the place that would later be the Coricancha. After several confrontations with the local population, Ayar Manco and Ayar Uchu arrived at the place and took possession of it. From that moment on, Ayar Manco was renamed Manco Cápac.

Research on the founding myths of Cuzco

Regarding the two founding myths, the legend of the founding couple (Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo), arises after the enthronement of Pachacútec, since it relates a pan-Andean huaca, such as Lake Titicaca, with the foundation of Cuzco. Garcilaso translated the myth by posing a couple who came to civilize barbarian peoples by teaching them new technologies; The real fact is that it is currently known that the central Andean area already had ancient technological advances that were disseminated by the Pan-Andean states of Huari and Tiahuanaco, and that they were already known to the small towns that inhabited the Cuzco area.

Although both myths narrate a population exodus looking for fertile lands, only the myth of the Ayar brothers narrates the petrification of characters and this last story is very recurrent in other ethnic groups of the central Andean area.

Regarding the location of the caves, Bingham in 1912 commissioned George Eaton to locate the Tambotoco windows, taking into account that the town of Pacarictambo still exists but Eaton's search did not find the caves. Then in 1945, Jorge Muelle, Luis Llanos and César Lobón traveled through Mollebamba looking for the site of Guaynacancha (in the Pacarictambo district), there they associated a group of caves near the Puma Orqo rock with the Tambotoco caves. Later Gary Urton contributed research on the town of Pacarictambo, stating that it was moved in colonial times and that it was very possible that its original location would have been close to the ruins of Maukallajta, close to the site found by Muelle, Llanos and Lobón in 1945..

In general, the story of the Ayar brothers shows us a warrior man (Ayar Auca) and a warrior woman (Mama Huaco), giving a different vision to that of Garcilaso, where the female role is dedicated to weaving, cooking and childcare; This myth narrates an event that occurred during one of the many battles to take possession of Cuzco, in which Mama Huaco wounds a man, then opens his chest and blows her "bofes", causing the people of Acamama to flee in fear.

Origin (historical)

Government of Manco Cápac

The 1.o Inca: Manco Cápac.

He founded the Inca empire, approximately the year 1200 AD. C. and was its first ruler. He was characterized by the domain of the pre-Inca tribes that lived dispersed in Cuzco and its surroundings. Manco Cápac unified the huallas, poques and lares, and with them he settled in the lower part of the city. Thus began the dynasty of the Urin Cuzco. A short time later he ordered the construction of the first residence of the Incas, the Inticancha or Temple of the Sun . His sister and wife was Mama Ocllo.

• Legendary Empire (Local phase):

Pre-state era: formation

Little mobility; There is little news of his successive governments: Sinchi Roca , who would have governed from 1230 to 1260 without achieving significant expansion in the then kingdom of Cuzco; Lloque Yupanqui , which would culminate his government in 1290 with the merit of reaching various alliances with different towns surrounding the Incas; Mayta Cápac recognized for his victory over the acllahuiza and that would culminate his government around 1320; and Cápac Yupanqui, the first conqueror, to whom we owe the victory against the condesuyo. In a coup, Cápac Yupanqui would overthrow Tarco Huamán, successor to Mayta Cápac. This period would have lasted for approximately 120 years, beginning around AD 1230. C. (year in which the government of Sinchi Roca begins), until 1350 d. C. (year in which the government of Cápac Yupanqui culminates after his poisoning by Cusi Chombo in a coup organized by Inca Roca. Who would be his successor, Quispe Yupanqui, would also be assassinated).

A more general ethnohistoric view of this period describes that the Incas arrived in Cuzco around the [[13th century]] d. C. and, in the following century, they managed to impose themselves on the populations closest to the Cuzco valley. Since their arrival in Cuzco, the Incas would have mixed with some of the peoples that inhabited the place and expelled others. They would have organized their predominance by making alliances with different curacas establishing kinship relationships and by fighting wars. To these practices, which continued, were added others such as the collection of surpluses and labor and the practice of redistribution. To understand this situation, it would also be necessary to consider that the religious prestige that accompanied the Incas was the cornerstone of the effectiveness of all the expansion mechanisms that they used at this time.

This stage is called pre-state, because at no time did a solid idea of an Inca state or nation emerge; but the Andean idea of being considered a macro-ethnic group still existed, although this would change when the territory of the ethnic group expanded significantly after the government of Cápac Yupanqui and his various conquests. The end of this period coincides with the end of the dynasty of the rulers Urin Cuzco ( Rurin Qusqu ), who saw in Cápac Yupanqui the last representative of him.

State Time: Great Expansion

With Pachacútec the imperial model began, with Túpac Inca Yupanqui it expanded and with Huayna Cápac it was consolidated.

Government of Pachacútec

The 9.o Inca: Pachacutec

Territories conquered by Pachacocotec.

During his government, territorial expansion began, thus inaugurating the imperial period by annexing numerous towns. Pachacútec improved the organization of the state, dividing the empire into four regions or suyus. To the north, he subdued the Huancas and Tarmas , until he reached the area of the Cajamarcas and Cañaris (Ecuador). To the south he subdued the collas and lupacas , who occupied the highland plateau. He organized the chasquis and instituted the obligation of tributes.

• Historical Empire (Explosion phase):

- Dynasty Hanan Cuzco: 1438-1471.

Government of Tupac Yupanqui

The 10th Inca: Tupac Yupanqui

Territories conquered by Tupac Yupanqui.

He was a prominent soldier who achieved important victories during the government of his father Pachacútec. In 1471 he assumed the throne and expanded the borders of the empire to the south, reaching the Maule River in Chile. He also subdued the Chimú kingdom and some towns in the highlands and northern Argentina. He put down the resistance of the chachapoyas and advanced north to Quito. He wanted to venture into the jungle, but a rebellion by the collas forced him to deviate towards Collao. He improved the collection of tributes and appointed new visiting rulers (tuqriq) . He died in 1493.

• Historical Empire (Explosion phase):

- Dynasty Hanan Cuzco: 1471-1493.

Government of Huayna Cápac

El 11.o Inca: Huayna Cápac

Maximum expansion of the empire at the end of the government Huayna Cápac.

He is considered the last sovereign of the Inca. During his government, he continued the policy of his father, Túpac Inca Yupanqui , regarding the organization and strengthening of the state. In order to preserve the conquered territories, he had to put down continuous uprisings in a bloody way. He defeated the chachapoyas and annexed the region of the gulf of Guayaquil, reaching the Ancasmayo river (Colombia). While in Quito, he became seriously ill and died in 1525. Some Spanish chronicles postulate that he also expanded the borders of the empire further south, and that he would have even reached the Biobío River in Chile; although this southernmost limit has not been verified archaeologically, and it is not historically accepted. With his death the decline of the empire began.

• Historical Empire (Explosion phase):

- Dynasty Hanan Cuzco: 1493-1525.

Succession crisis

The 12th Inca: Huáscar

Succession crises were a conjunctural phenomenon that was very frequent in the political history of the empire. The one who aspired to be the new sovereign had to demonstrate that he was the "most skilful", he had to be confirmed by an oracle and also had to win followers in the panacas of Cuzco.

Huayna Cápac named Ninan Cuyuchi (son of Coya Mama-Cussi-Rimay^{[citation needed]}) as his heir, but the priest of the sun made a sacrifice in the one who saw that luck would not favor Ninan Cuyuchi. For this reason, when Huayna Cápac died in Quito, he was carried on a litter to Cuzco, keeping his death a secret, to maintain political order. In this context, Raura Ocllo, Huáscar's mother who was in Quito with Huayna Cápac, traveled quickly to Cuzco accompanied by a few dried apricots to prepare for Huáscar's enthronement. According to María Rostworowski, it was Raura Ocllo who convinced the Cuzco panacas to name Huáscar as his successor; while Atahualpa stayed in Quito along with other nobles.

For his part, Atahualpa was the son of Tocto Coca (a woman who belonged to the panaca of "Hatun Ayllu"); and when his father died, he ordered the construction of a palace in his honor in the town of Tomebamba. This fact angered the curaca of Tomebamba named Ullco Colla, who sent messages to Huáscar accusing Atahualpa of revolt; In addition, Atahualpa stayed in the north accompanied by several important generals loyal to Huayna Cápac, who had a special appreciation for Atahualpa. After this fact, Atahualpa sent presents to his brother Huáscar, but the latter ordered to make drums with the leathers of the messengers. According to Rostworowski, Atahualpa was incited to rebel by his father's generals, with whom he had participated in several battles against the natives to the north.

In this context, the rebellion of the “cañaris” occurred, who took Atahualpa prisoner, locking him in a tambo. Atahualpa's escape takes on a mythical context, because according to the speakers Atahualpa was turned into amaru (snake) by his father's sun, and thus managed to escape from confinement. Other chronicles state that it was a woman who gave him a copper bar with which he made a forado and was able to escape from confinement. Once free, Atahualpa gathered an army and assassinated his enemies in Quito and Tomebamba, the latter city was razed in revenge for Ullco Colla; he then advanced to Tumbes trying to advance to Puná Island, but the curaca of Puná went ahead and razed Tumbes. With the town of Tumbes devastated, the first Spaniards set foot on Inca territory.

Meanwhile, Huáscar tried to stabilize his enthronement in Cuzco with the support of the panacas. Regarding Huáscar, the chroniclers describe several political errors that diminished the support of Cuzco. Firstly, he did not attend the royal ayllus as was the custom, he did not attend the public lunches in the Cuzco plaza (which strengthened ties of reciprocity and kinship). He eliminated the ayllus custodians from his personal guard and appointed "Cañari" and "Chachapoya" warriors as his royal guard. Huáscar doubted the loyalty of the Cuzco panacas and surrounded himself with other nobles. Fearing a rebellion by the Cuzco nobility, he threatened to bury the royal mummies and take their lands from the panacas. Little by little Huáscar was gaining enemies in a period of intrigues among the Cuzco nobility, in his counterpart Atahualpa was gaining followers.

Government of Huáscar

Huáscar did not agree with Huayna Cápac's will, since he believed he had the right to inherit the entire Inca empire according to Inca laws, customs and traditions. Huáscar faced in 1531 after many years of peace his half-brother Atahualpa, who also considered himself the legitimate heir to the throne in the Quito region. Very soon, important regions of the empire were shaken by bloody battles between troops from Cuzco and Quito, which ended with the final victory of the latter. Huáscar was taken prisoner and later killed by order of Atahualpa.

• Historical Empire (Explosion phase):

- Dynasty Hanan Cuzco: 1525 - 1532.

Government of Atahualpa

The 13th Inca: Atahualpa. In front of him are Francisco Pizarro and Father Vicente de Valverde.

Son of Huayna Cápac with the Inca noblewoman Tocto Ocllo Coca. After the death of his father, he became governor of the city of Quito. Either due to the fear Huáscar had of his brother or the ambition to become sovereign, he later proclaimed himself an Inca in Quito and thus began the war of Inca succession. His troops, led by Chalcuchímac and Quizquiz , defeated Huáscar's army in the battle of Quipaipán (Apurímac) and triumphantly entered Cuzco. Aware of the victory, Atahualpa marched to Cajamarca to be crowned Inca. On the way he was acclaimed by the peoples of the north. However, upon reaching Cajamarca, he was taken prisoner by the Spanish conquistadors in the Cajamarca ambush. It was the year 1532. This fact marked the end of the Inca empire.

Contrary to what is thought, Atahualpa (who ruled de facto between 1532 and 1533), is not part of the capaccuna by never gird the mascaipacha. Therefore it is improper to call it Sapa Inca, as it is sometimes called. Quito was completely burnt down by General Rumiñahui in 1534, before the arrival of the Spanish in the city in search of the treasures of the empire, and founded again by the Spanish Sebastián de Belalcázar on the ashes of the Inca town on December 6, 1534.

The Fall

The Quizquiz troops faced the combined army of Manco Inca and Francisco Pizarro. Juan Bravo's painting for the municipality of Cuzco.

At the time of the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, the Andes were in a decisive phase of the Inca civil war. The atahualpistas had overwhelmed the Cuzco forces until they captured the capital itself. During their advance, they had committed numerous atrocities against the ethnic groups and cities that had supported Huáscar's Cuzco; It is worth remembering what was perpetrated against the Cañaris in Tomebamba and that the Atahualpista general Chalcuchímac was about to repeat in Hatun Xauxa against the Huancas. This context of superiority generated a climate of pedantry and arrogance in the Atahualpista armies, particularly in Atahualpa himself.

This arrogance would be decisive in allowing the Spanish to surprise and capture Atahualpa in Cajamarca: a turning point in leaving the Atahualpistas politically, ideologically, and militarily headless, at least temporarily. It would also deal a severe blow to their military situation, since Quizquiz and Chalcuchímac (the main remaining Atahualpista generals) were unable to attack the Spanish due to fear that they would execute their captive leader. Using Atahualpa as a hostage, the Spanish would gain invaluable time and resources on their journey to Cusco.

Many of those who had suffered the Atahualpista reprisals ended up allying with the Hispanic forces; highlighting ethnic groups such as the Huancas, Cañaris and the Cuzqueños themselves, whose remnants were revitalized thanks to the turnaround in the military situation. The Spanish, in order to curry favor with the Andes, named a series of new Incas according to the official procedures of Cuzco. All these factors combined explain how the Spanish managed to peacefully take huge portions of territory with hardly any armed conflicts. They even used propaganda narratives to their advantage to delegitimize opposing forces that truly posed a threat, such as the Atahualpista remnants (who resisted until 1535) and the Vilcabamba rebels (who resisted until 1572).

Nevertheless, a considerable portion of towns, cities, and ethnic groups remained neutral, manifesting a disregard for the forces that crossed their territories since they were fed up with the continuous years of war, which prevented them from attending to vital agricultural activities..

Colonial Incas

Since the arrival of the Spanish, on their march to Cuzco.

• Tupac Hualpa (1533) two months, September and October. Inca crowned by the Spaniards, dies before arriving at the Imperial City in the Mantaro Valley.
• Manco Inca (1533-1545), Inca crowned by the Spaniards (1533) rebelled against them (1536) leaves the Cuzco, moving its capital first to Ollantaytambo and then to Vilcabamba.
• Paullu Inca (1537-1549), Inca crowned by the Spaniards during the government of Manco Inca (1537), who also reigned four years after his death, during the government of Sayri Túpac.

Neo-Inca State: Incas of Vilcabamba

They were rulers of peoples descendants of the Incas, it was officially the last Inca dynasty, founded after the rebellion of Manco Inca and as the last resistance to the Spanish conquerors.

• Manco Inca until his death in 1545 Inca de Vilcabamba.
• Sayri Túpac (1545-1558) Inca de Vilcabamba.
• Titu Cusi Yupanqui (1558-1571) Inca de Vilcabamba.
• Tupac Amaru I (1571-1572) Inca de Vilcabamba.

Geography and territory

Geographic location

Limits of the Inca Empire: in the north it reached to the outskirts of Pasto (Colombia), in the river Ancasmayo and in the south to Talca (Chile), in the Maule river.

It was the Andean region, due to the presence of the Andes mountain range, it is characterized by the diversity of its ecology: desert coasts, tropical landscapes, dry and cold highlands that at first glance seem one of the least favorable environments for the life of man. However, the men who inhabited it have shown over many centuries to be capable not only of surviving in such circumstances, but also of dominating the geographical environment and creating a series of flourishing civilizations. The most famous of these was the Inca empire, which occupied a vast territory of South America, which includes the current or parts of the territories of the Republics of Peru, Ecuador, western Bolivia, northern Chile, extreme south-western Colombia and northwestern Argentina.

Distribution of the Inca empire within the current countries of South America

The Incas in Argentina

Pucará de Tilcara in the province of Jujuy (Argentina).

According to historical sources in the territory of Argentina, between 1479 and 1535, the Inca empire conquered the western parts of the current provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, La Rioja, San Juan, and the extreme northwest of Mendoza incorporating them into Collasuyo. Some investigations suggest the Inca influence in part of the Province of Santiago del Estero (interfluvial area where the city of Santiago del Estero is located), but the incorporation of that area into the empire has not been proven. Traditionally the conquest is attributed to the Inca Túpac Yupanqui. The peoples that then inhabited that region, the Omaguacas, the Diaguitas (including the Calchaquíes), the Huarpes and others, tried to resist but the Incas managed to dominate them, transferring to their territories the mitimaes or deported settlers from the Chichas tribes, who They lived in what is the southwest of current Bolivian territory.

The Incas built roads (the Camino del Inca), agricultural and textile production centers, settlements (collcas and tambos), fortresses (pucarás) and numerous sanctuaries at the top of the mountains where they performed human sacrifices, especially young girls. and of children as shown by the mummies of Llullaillaco, also using pre-existing constructions.

Among the most important Inca establishments in Argentina are the Potrero de Payogasta in Salta, the Tambería del Inca in La Rioja, the pucará de Aconquija and the Shincal in London, both in Catamarca, the pucará de Tilcara in Jujuy and the ruins of Quilmes in Tucumán, most of which were pre-Inca and were organized into an urban network within their empire, establishing military checkpoints there.

The Inca provinces (wamanis) in the current Argentine territory were five:

• Humahuaca', with probable header in Tilcara, arriving north to Talina, currently in the South of Bolivia. Inhabited by mitimáes chichas.
• Chicoana or Sikuani, inhabited by the roars, it spread through the Atacama puna floor and the northern part of the Calchaquíes valleys to near Seclantás and probably covered from the Salinas Grandes de Jujuy to the south of La Paya in Salta, where the former Chicoana was its capital.
• Quire-Quire or Kiri-Kiri, which included the rest of the valleys Calchaquíes beginning in Pompona (now La Angostura), the entire valley of Santa Maria and the valleys of Andalgalá, Hualfín and Abaucán. Inhabited calchaquíes and yocaviles and by a large number of mitimáes, it had two main seats in Shincal and Tolombón.
• Tucumán or TucmuaHe understood the eastern valleys and the smuggled mountains.
• The southernmost province probably spread from La Rioja to the mountains of the Cordón de Plata, reaching the hill Tupungato in Mendoza and perhaps was part of, with the name Cuyo or Kuyun of the province of Chile or Chili.

The Incas in Bolivia

In the territory of Bolivia, after around 1100 B.C. C. Tiwanaku disappeared, there was a fight between the different groups that inhabited the region: aimaras, collas, lupacas and pacajes. The aimaras establish a domain that encompasses Arequipa and Puno in Peru, La Paz and Oruro, which lasted until, in 1438, the Inca Pachacútec defeated the last Colla sovereign, Chunqui Cápac, incorporating the Bolivian highlands into the Inca empire, as part of the province of Collasuyo, and imposing Quechua as the official language, although Aymara continued to be spoken regularly. In addition, the Inca empire adopted Tiwanakota architectural styles and other knowledge. Later, the Inca Huayna Cápac ordered the construction of fortresses on the eastern border to stop the advance of the Chiriguanos.

According to a legend, the founders of the Inca empire, Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, were born from the foam of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia.

The Incas in Brazil

In the territory of Brazil, there are two roads that the Incas would have built, in the northeast from Quito reaching the current state of Roraima on the border of the Guianas, which according to the Chilean researcher Roland Stevenson arises from a mispronunciation of the name Quechua "Guayna Capac", father of Huáscar and Atahualpa, and the so-called Peabiru road (pea-road; Biru-Perú) that connects the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, in the current state of São Paulo, with the city of Cuzco in the Andes through which the Portuguese Aleixo García would have raided taking precious metals from present-day Bolivia, before the Spanish conquest.^{[citation required]}

The Incas in Chile

Confrontation between mapuches (left) and incas (right). Drawing of the chronicler Guaman Poma de Ayala.

In the territory of Chile, during the reign of Túpac Yupanqui, the conquest of the Diaguitas and Aconcaguas took place in the transversal valleys of the Norte Chico of Chile and the Central Zone of Chile by the populations located in the north and center, who inhabited the "valley of Chile" (current Mapocho valley), and some regions located to the south of it, thus setting the limits of the Inca Empire in an area that historians and recent archeology conventionally extend somewhere between the rivers Maule and Maipo. Thus, that territory was divided into two wamanis or provinces: the Elqui Valley (Coquimbo) in the north, presided over by Anien, and the Mapocho Valley (Santiago) in the south, headed by Quilicanta.

The Incas in Colombia

In the territory of Colombia, around 1492 the Inca empire temporarily dominated the region inhabited by the aboriginal peoples called Los Pastos and they built a fortress still visible on two roads, in Males (now the municipality of Córdoba). However, the pastures took refuge to the west. in the Awá territory, from where they managed to expel the occupants. The Incas then preferred to advance through the Amazonian foothills through the territory of the Cofán, until they controlled the territory of the Camsá in Mocoa, Valle de Sibundoy and the area of present-day Pasto; but finally it was the Spanish who controlled the region and It was the Awá who managed to preserve themselves from domination in the jungles on the slopes of the Pacific Ocean.

The Incas in Ecuador

The Fortress of Ingapirca located in the province of Cañar (Ecuador).

In the territory of Ecuador, in the XV century, the Incas Túpac Yupanqui and Huayna Cápac conquered the territory and they incorporated into their empire.

In the middle of the XV century the area was invaded by the forces of the Inca Túpac Yupanqui, who under the command of a powerful army headed from the south to expand their domains. At first the campaign was relatively easy for him, but then he had to face the bracamoros, the only town that could force the Inca to abandon his land without being able to incorporate it into the empire.

When the Inca began to advance on the Cañaris, it was even more difficult for the Inca armies, since they rejected them fighting bravely, forcing them to retreat to the lands of what is now Saraguro, where they had to wait for the arrival of reinforcements to be able to start the campaign. This time considering the immense superiority of the Incas, the Cañaris preferred to agree and submit to the conditions imposed by them. After this, Túpac Yupanqui founded the city of Tomebamba, the current city of Cuenca, the city where it is disputed that Huayna Cápac could have been born.

The Incas in Peru

Agricultural terraces of Moray in CuzcoPeru).

The Inca Empire originated in the territory of Peru occupying the coast, mountains and high jungle of the Peruvian territory (covering approximately half of its current surface).

At the beginning of the 13th century, Inca history began with Cuzco as the capital, having Manco Cápac as its founder. Since then, the Incas had three expansions, the third being the largest as it developed first to the north starting with central-western Peru to southern Colombia, and then to the south starting with southern Peru to central Chile. In the XV century, the Sapa Inca Pachacútec divided Tawantinsuyo, taking the capital as a point of reference, into four of his own: Chinchaysuyo, Contisuyo, Antisuyo and Collasuyo.

In 1525 a civil war began between Huáscar and Atahualpa for the succession to the throne, Atahualpa winning this dispute, but leaving the empire at odds and unstable. In these circumstances the Spaniards arrive who in Cajamarca surprisingly capture Atahualpa in an interview in 1532.

The Incas in Polynesia

The base of the Ahu Vinapu, showing its carving similar to the incaic architecture.

The Spanish chroniclers Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, Martín de Murúa and Miguel Cabello Balboa, during the conquest, collected a series of stories about a trip of the Inca Túpac Yupanqui to distant islands. According to the stories, while the Inca was on the north coast (in the Puná islands), he learned from native merchants who returned to the place, that they arrived sailing on sailing rafts from some very distant islands where there were exotic riches, so he decided to travel myself to check it out. He ordered to prepare a fleet of rafts, and would have sailed from Tumbes, arriving at some islands called Ninachumbi and Ahuachumbi.

Some historians hypothesize that this story has a true historical basis and that the islands would be located in Polynesia. Easter or Mangareva.

Territory of the Inca Empire

Representation of the four divisions of the Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyu, which departed from Cuzco, the capital city in the form of puma.

The four of them as a whole extended over more than two million square kilometers and came to include, in their heyday (around 1532), part of the current republics of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. They had approximately four thousand kilometers of coastline in the Pacific Ocean. The expansion began with the Inca Pachacútec and reached its peak with the Inca Huayna Cápac. The maximum expansion is attributed to the Inca Túpac Yupanqui.

To the north, the Inca Empire stretched as far as the Guáitira River, to the north on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. In Ecuador, they came to cover an area that would include the current cities of Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and Manta.

To the northeast, it extended to the Amazon jungle of the present-day republics of Peru and Bolivia. Its limits with this are very unclear due to the sporadic exploration expeditions of the jungle by the inhabitants of the empire due to the large number of diseases and the fear that the natives had in those areas, but it is known that they dominated the current ones cities of Potosí, Oruro, La Paz and Cochabamba in Bolivia and practically the entire Peruvian highlands.

To the southeast, the Inca empire even crossed the Andes mountain range (known in modern geopolitics as encabalgarse), reaching somewhat beyond what is now known as the cities of Salta and Tucumán in Argentina. The Inca territory of present-day Argentina formed a special area called Tucma or Tucumán, which included the current provinces of La Rioja, Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy.

To the south, there is evidence that the Inca Empire reached as far as the Atacama Desert (present-day Atacama Region III) in effective control, but with advances as far as the Maule River (present-day Maule Region VII of Chile), where due to the resistance of the purumaucas (or picunches, belonging to the Mapuche ethnic group) it could not continue advancing.

To the west, although the Inca Empire bordered the Pacific Ocean, there are those who also postulate that the Incas would have even maintained, despite the naval limitations of the time, a certain commercial relationship with some unknown people of distant Polynesia (Oceania). The subject has been studied by José Antonio del Busto in a recent publication. One of the people who defended this theory was the late Norwegian diffusionist explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

Its capital was in the city of Cuzco —which, according to the Peruvian Constitution, is the "historical capital" from Peru—, where the four of them were.

Political division: Suyos or regions

Map of the Inca Empire:
Chinchaysuyo Antisuyo Contisuyo Collasuyo

The chroniclers affirmed that the Inca empire was divided into four districts known as suyos (from Quechua suyu): Chinchaysuyo, Antisuyo, Collasuyo and Contisuyo. The center of this division was Cuzco itself. The Inca Pachacútec has been attributed the creation of this system of organization of the territory; however we know that it was a practice that preceded the government of this great reformer. Before the Inca domain was consolidated in Cuzco, the space around this city was also divided into four parts. The divisions then corresponded to the territories of the lordships of the area. When Manco Cápac and his clans settled in the area, they created the four Inca suyus from this division.

An issue that is still a matter of discussion among researchers is that of the extension and limits of each suyu. As we have seen, the Inca expansion began with Pachacútec, who conquered the chiefdoms of the area near Cuzco: the soras, lucanas and tambos. Other military leaders such as his brother Cápac Yupanqui, and later Túpac Yupanqui and Amaru Yupanqui, continued the conquests, while Pachacútec remained in Cuzco. For example, Cápac Yupanqui would have recognized and visited the valleys of Chincha and Pisco on the coast, while in the central highlands he would have reached Jauja. Túpac Inca continued the conquest of the Chinchaysuyu up to the region of the cañaris (Tumibamba); while Amaru Yupanqui and other military leaders conquered the Collasuyu up to Chincha and the Contisuyo up to Arequipa. However, we still do not know if the coastal strip between Ica and Tarapacá was conquered at this time or later, after Túpac Yupanqui assumed the supreme command of the Inca State. On the other hand, during the times of Túpac Yupanqui, the northern border was established near Quito; while the southern border was set at the Maule River, 260 km south of Santiago de Chile. During the government of Huayna Cápac, new regions were conquered in Ecuador and the extreme southwest of Colombia (near Pasto). These are generally the known limits of the empire. The least precise point is related to the Amazon region, where it is difficult to specify the scope of the Inca incursions.

Suyu	Map	Description
Chinchaysuyo (Chinchay suyu)		Location: It was located in the northwest quadrant of the capital (Cuzco). Group: Belonged to the group Hanan (Hanansuyo, Hanan suyu). Others: It was the main region.
Antisuyo (Anti suyu)		Location: It was located in the area of the jungle eyebrow to the northeast of the city of Cuzco. Group: Belonged to the group Hanan (Hanansuyo, Hanan suyu). Others: It was limited with the Amazon rainforest.
Contisuyo (Kunti suyu)		Location: It was located in the vicinity of Arequipa. Group: Belonged to the group Hurin -low- Rurin suyu). Others: It was the smallest region.
Collasuyo (Qulla suyu)		Location: It was located in the southeast quadrant of the capital (Cuzco). Group: Belonged to the group Hurin -low- Rurin suyu). Others: It was mainly occupied by the altiplastic zone.

Territorial organization

Map of Tahuantinsuyo with its own (regions) and wamanis (provinces).

Each province (wamani) was divided into sayas or partes in which a variable number of ayllus lived. The number of sayas in each province used to be based on duality, although it is true that some provinces came to have three sayas, such as that of the Huancas.

The decimal base of administration

For the best administration of the empire, it was necessary to ensure that everyone worked and fulfilled what was imposed on them. To this end, the Incas created a decimal organization that consisted of a school of officials, each of whom controlled the work of ten who were under his immediate authority:

• The Purec or head of family (the basis of society).
• The Chunca-camayocin charge of a ChuncaI mean, the set of ten families. I sent ten. purecs and was responsible for the census of the persons concerned with their jurisdiction, distribute land and direct them at work.
• The Pachaca-camayoc, official apparently equivalent to the healer, who controlled a Pachaca or set of a hundred families. I was in charge of monitoring the chunca-camayocs in the discharge of their obligations and review any decisions they have made in matters within their jurisdiction.
• The Huaranga-camayocin charge of one Huaranga or set of a thousand families. Survigilating the pachaca-camayocs; especially it should take care of the accuracy of the census records and the fairness of the distribution of land, in order to prevent those from taking advantage of their authority to prejudice the well-being of the people.
• The Huno-camayocin command of a Huno or set of ten thousand families, breadth that makes thinking of a tribal confederation stabilized by the authority of the Inca. Survigilating the huaranga-camayocs. He kept the census records and according to them he led the agrarian policy and the handicraft works. He was subordinate to the Tucuirícuc and Suyuyuc Apu.

Political organization

The imperial government was of theocratic monarchical type, the highest authority was the Sapa Inca, advised by the imperial council. Symbol of his power was the mascapaicha, a kind of red woolen tassel that he girdled on his head. He exercised his government functions from the private palace that each one had built in Cuzco. From where he granted audience and administered justice. He also traveled frequently through the Tawantinsuyo, carried on the shoulders of porters, to personally attend to the needs of his people.

The Sapa Inca

The Inca and its imperial council (Tahuantinsuyo Camachic), according to drawing Guamán Poma de Ayala.

The mascaypacha was the only symbol of power that granted the Inca Sapa titles Governor of Cuzco e Inca del Tahuantinsuyo (the latter from Pachacútec), as a crown.

These rulers, to whom a divine origin was attributed, are usually associated with the titles inca lord and sapa inca: "divine inca" 3. 4; and "unique Inca", respectively.

The "Capac crib" it was the official list of rulers of the Inca civilization. It is speculated that there were more rulers than it accepts and that several were erased from the official history of the empire for various reasons. In total, there were thirteen Inca sovereigns.

• Legendary Empire: Period without Expansion:

~1200 - ~1230: Manco Cápac

~1230 - ~1260: Sinchi Roca

~1260 - ~1290: Yupanqui

~1290 - ~1320: Mayta Cápac

~1320 - ~1350: Cápac Yupanqui

~1350 - ~1380: Inca Roca

~1380 - ~1400: Yáhuar Huácac

~1400 - 1438: Viracocha Inca

• Historical Empire: Period of Empire Expansion:

1438 - 1471: Pachacútec Inca Yupanqui

1471 - 1472: Amaru Inca Yupanqui

1472 - 1493: Tupac Inca Yupanqui

1493 - 1525: Huayna Cápac

1525 - 1532: Huáscar

1532 - 1533: Atahualpa

Although some historians consider that Atahualpa should not be included in the capac cradle, arguing that Atahualpa would have declared himself a subject of Carlos I of Spain, in addition to the fact that he was never fitted with the mascapaicha, the symbol of imperial power. But most of the chroniclers give as certain the relation of 14 Incas, assigning the 14th seat to Atahualpa.

Other historians have followed the lineage and consider that Tarco Huamán and Inca Urco should also be taken into account. The first succeeded Mayta Cápac and, after a short period, was deposed by Cápac Yupanqui. Inca Urco girded the mascaipacha by decision of his father, Viracocha Inca, but, faced with his evident misrule and the invasion of the Chancas, he fled with him. After the triumph of Pachacutec Yupanqui -the future Pachacútec Inca Yupanqui, also the son of Viracocha Inca- over the enemy town, Inca Urco was killed in an ambush that he himself set up for his brother. Likewise, Garcilaso and some other chroniclers insert Amaru Yupanqui, a sovereign of doubtful existence, between Pachacútec and Túpac Yupanqui.

Inca Family

La Coya: It is the term that the main wife of the Sapa Inca received, to distinguish her from the rest of the women members of the imperial family as the wife of the emperor. She was the sovereign lady and was above the secondary wives. In the absence of the Inca, she was in charge of the government of the capital, Cuzco. She also organized, in case of need, the aid provided to the victims in case of major catastrophes.

El Auqui: It is the masculine term given to the crown prince in the Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo. In a generic way, all the male children of the Sapa Inca were called auquis; however, the specific title fell on only one of them, whose choice was based on criteria different from those of the traditional Western world (his capacity was taken more into account, rather than his quality as firstborn or legitimate son).

La Ñusta: It is the term given to princesses in the Inca Empire. The ñusta was a virgin and daughter of the Sapa Inca. The secondary wives of the emperor were also called that, the equivalent of concubines.

The right of inheritance

Inca political history was almost always plagued by confrontations over hereditary power. This was due to the ambiguity of the criteria for the election of the new Inca.

The main criteria for choosing the new Inca was the rule of choosing the “most skilled”. The new Inca could be the son of the old Inca with the coya or with any concubine. The heirs must be of legal age. The Inca could name a successor, but this had to be accepted by the gods (through an oracle) and by the panacas.

The criterion of choosing the "most skilled" as ruler was a criterion widely spread throughout the territory, many of the macroethnic groups and ethnic groups chose as ruler the one who demonstrated the greatest ability to command and they were not necessarily their own children; This custom was so effective that Viceroy Toledo ordered: "not to do anything new, leaving the succession to the old law and custom".

In the case of the Inca rulers, the most skilled was also the one who won the most supporters in the “panacas”, demonstrating their ability to negotiate politically. This also led to power struggles among the panacas, which led to politically motivated crimes.

In the case of the «panacas», the social status of the mother was important, since everything indicates that the pattern of post-marriage cohabitation in Cuzco was exogamous and matrilineal. In other words, the only thing that differentiated the children of an Inca was his maternal ancestry and it was what gave some more rank than others. In the Inca social network, a mother with numerous kin had a greater capacity to exercise "reciprocity," so important in the Inca social structure.

In general, there were several aspects that prevailed when choosing an Inca sovereign, but the criteria were so ambiguous that in many cases, when one of the Inca's sons proved to be skillful in politics, administration and war, prevailed over his brothers. As examples, Pachacútec prevailed over Inca Urco (Inca Urco was named successor by Huiracocha Inca); Inca Roca was enthroned after the death of Cápac Yupanqui at the hands of his own wife called Cusi Chimbo, a woman who would later be married by Inca Roca himself; Atahualpa prevailed over his brother Huáscar, in a process in which Atahualpa was winning battles and political allies, demonstrating his ability as a ruler. In general, the death of an Inca almost always brought with it a conjunctural period of political instability in which one of the sons had to demonstrate his ability to enthrone himself in power.

Imperial Council

The highest body dedicated to the advice of the Inca sovereign. Composed of eighteen people:

• The four governors of yours (Suyuyuc Apu).
• Twelve advisors, more directly linked to theirs in the Empire.
• The High priest (Willaq Uma).
• The general of the imperial army (Apukispay).

Banner

Inca Imperial Standard

According to some chronicles, there would have been an Inca imperial ensign or banner (unancha), which has given rise to the argument that there was a kind of flag of the Inca empire. However, such an interpretation is incorrect, since the banner did not represent the Inca state but the sovereign, who painted his weapons and personal insignia on it. In any case, it is known that this banner was used by the Inca hosts together with the sovereign.

The royal script or banner was a square and small banderilla, of ten or twelve palmos of rough, made of canvas of cotton or wool, was placed in the auction of a long stale, lying and stiff, without waving to the air, and in it each king painted his weapons and currencies, because each one of them seemed to be different, though the generals of the Incas were the crowns and the I had the so-called banner certain colored feathers and long layings.

Barnabas Cobo, History of the New World (1609)

Multicolor flag mistakenly attributed to the Tahuantinsuyo.

In contemporary times, the existence of this "Inca banner" has been confused with a multicolored flag (with the colors of the rainbow) that is commonly attributed to the Inca empire. However, according to Peruvian historiography, the concept of a flag did not exist in the Inca empire, and therefore it never had one. This has been affirmed by the historian and researcher of the Inca civilization, María Rostworowski, who when asked about this multicolored banner pointed out emphatically: «I give you my life, the Incas did not have that flag. That flag did not exist, no chronicler refers to it."

Other investigations even indicate that this flag was created only in 1973 to commemorate the anniversary of a radio station in the city of Cuzco called "Radio Tahuantinsuyo", and that its use would have spread from there until the Provincial Municipality of Cuzco It was officially adopted as the emblem of the city in 1978. The Congress of the Republic of Peru itself pronounced itself along these lines, when it pointed out that the origins of this false flag of the Inca empire date back only to the first decades of the XX when some authors, especially indigenistas, mention it and describe it as a supposed emblem of the Inca empire. As Radio Tahuantinsuyo assumed it as the emblem of the radio station, the confusion spread and the error spread massively.

The official use of the so-called Tahuantinsuyo flag is undue and unequivocal. In the pre-Hispanic andean world the concept of flag was not lived, which does not correspond to its historical context.

National Academy of History of Peru.

Social organization

The aillu

Drawing of Guamán Poma de Ayala which represents a Aillu.

The word "ayllu" of Quechua and Aymara origin means, among other things: community, lineage, genealogy, caste, gender, kinship. It can be defined as the group of descendants of a common, real or supposed ancestor who work the land collectively and with a spirit of solidarity.

The “aillu” was the base and the nucleus of the social organization of the empire. The aillus believed that they descended from a common ancestor, which is why they were linked by ties of kinship. This ancestor could be mythical or real; and in all cases, the aillus kept a "mallqui" (mummy) to which they worshiped and through which they gave meaning to their relationships. In addition to the mallqui, the members of an aillu had common tutelary divinities and paid tribute to the land in common form.

An aillu owned cattle, land and water to which all its members were entitled as long as they fulfilled obligations established among the members. Each aillu handled the size of their "tupus" (unit of land measurement), each delivered "tupu" had to be worked so as not to lose the right to the land. In the agricultural activity the members of the aillu helped each other; the fact of belonging to the aillu gave them the right to receive help in the event that their own nuclear family was not enough; This help was generally given at harvest time, sowing or in the construction of the houses of the newlyweds; in these cases the "principle of reciprocity" came into play, forcing the return of the aid provided.

In the case of the curaca (head of the “aillu”), he could ask for help to graze his cattle or work the land. He was obliged to provide food and drink to those who helped him, but he was not obliged to return the help, for which reason there was an asymmetrical reciprocity with him.

In the case of communal lands, all the members of the «ayllu» worked it organized by the «curaca» and the «llacta camayoc». The production of the communal lands was stored and redistributed among the members of the aillu who needed it.

Collective work for the construction and maintenance of canals, reservoirs or platforms, was called "minka" and was organized by the curaca, who also assigned the tasks that the members of the "aillu" had to fulfill.

The elderly, widows, orphans and invalids were also obliged to work collectively but received help for the work of their "tupus". Usually the elderly and disabled performed supervisory duties. Poma points out that the irrigation waters were distributed by the elderly.

The aillus not only held land in a compact territory; The need to make an aillu self-sufficient forced it to cover other ecological floors, this gave rise to a discontinuous territoriality that was neither homogeneous nor differentiated. Aillus with large populations could access distant lands and a greater variety of products.

John Murra points out that a good example of this was the Aymara kingdoms, both Collas, Lupacas and Pacajes managed to control discontinuous territories on the coast as enclaves. In places with considerable distances, houses were built that housed the members of the aillu, the members of the aillu took turns working these remote lands.

Although in the highlands of the Inca empire the general characteristic of the aillus was agricultural, there were agricultural and livestock aillus at the same time and others that were only livestock. The eminently cattle aillus were located in Chinchaycocha and Collao; these aillus were dedicated to raising llamas and alpacas from which fiber was obtained; fresh meat or dried meat that was called "charqui"; skins for making “flip flops”, straps, bags and ropes; bones to make needles, musical or other instruments; and "taquia" (excrement) for fuel. On the coast, the aillus had populations specialized in agriculture, trade, fishing, and crafts.

Duality

The basic organizational principle of the Inca society was duality, this duality was based on kinship relationships. The aillus comprised two divisions that could be "hanan or urin", "alaasa or massaa", "uma or urco", "allauca or ichoc"; according to Franklin Pease these words were understood as "high or low", "right or left", "male or female", "in or out", "near or far", and "in front or behind".

The Spanish chroniclers described the curacas in pairs but without specifying the duality because this form of organization was unknown in Europe. In 1593 curacazgos divided into two halves were described, in which each half had a curaca in front; this situation was described for the curacazgos of Acarí, Lima and the curacazgos Lupacas del Collao and Tarata.

There were also curacazgos where women governed with their "second person", these data came from the curacazgos of Colán. The same thing happened in Cuzco, basing its organization on the principle of duality.

Europeans documented Cuzco dynasties: «Hanan Cuzco» and «Urin Cuzco», describing them as successive dynasties into which Cuzco was divided; the Spanish were unable to identify the dual government, so they placed one "dynasty" as an antecedent of the other. In other regions of the empire, other names were preferred for the parts of the duality; the Aymara regions preferred "alaasa - masaaa", other groups close to Lake Titicaca preferred "uma - urco" indicating distance or proximity to water sources (lake or rivers); to the north of the territory "allauca - ichoc" (left-right) was preferred.

The functions of each part are unclear. The chronicles do not describe the specific functions fulfilled by the ethnic leaders of each moiety. What is described is that one of the chiefs was subordinate to the other; Rostworowski describes that in the case of Cuzco the upper half was more important but in the case of Ica the lower half was.

Pease points out that both halves were integrated by reciprocity. In Cuzco, "hanan" and "urin" were opposite and at the same time complementary like human hands ("yanantin"). Even so, it is difficult to deduce what the functions of each part were, the only thing that remains clear is that both parties complemented each other and there were reciprocal obligations between them.

Social classes in the Inca empire

Inca society was hierarchical and rigid. There were great differences between social classes, these differences were respected by all the inhabitants of the empire. The hierarchical classes formed a pyramid where the Inca, with all the power, was at the top (flat), while the people, who were the vast majority, constituted their social base.

The Inca nobility

The Inca Nobility Celebrating the Chapac Raymi, according to drawing Guamán Poma.

In the empire there were two main lineages, Hanan Cuzco and Hurin Cuzco, from which the Sapa Inca or monarch came. Every time an Inca died there was political instability between these two lineages and the descendants of the last monarch in power. When the new Inca was instituted, he formed a new lineage of his own or panaca. There were at least a dozen panacas in the empire, whose members had various privileges.

Although the Sapa Inca, the Coya (his wife), the Auqui (inca's heir) and their children (first generations of each panaca) made up the royal family or royalty of the empire, there was a significant number of people who He considered them noble, whether by blood or privilege. Among the nobles of blood were the remaining members and descendants of the panacas and within the privileged nobles were those people who stood out for their services. One of its characteristics that differentiated the Inca nobility from the town was the enormous size of their ears, caused by the use of expander rings.

The nobility of blood in the Inca empire is estimated at the time of its fall in more than 10,000 individuals distributed in different parts of the territory, who fulfilled administrative and military functions. Part of the strategies used by the Incas to subdue other peoples, after military confrontations, was to establish marriage alliances between the local caciques and the Inca's daughters or concubines in order to create ties that would allow for peaceful occupation. It was also customary for the cacique to deliver his daughters to the Inca, who were sent directly to Cuzco to form part of his harem.

With the fall of the empire, all existing Inca noble prerogatives were lost, however, some nobles made efforts to have them recognized by the Spanish crown, such as Cristóbal Pariacallán Tuquiguaraca, who was granted a coat of arms and privileges, Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega also made efforts to have their class distinctions recognized.

The panacas

The panacas were lineages of the direct descendants of a reigning Inca, excluding the successor, and they kept the mummy of the deceased Inca, as well as their memoirs, quipus, songs, and paintings in memory of the deceased. generation to generation.

These royal panacas formed the Cuzco elite. They had a role in the Inca politics and their alliances and enmities were crucial to the history of the Inca capital. It is said that there were other panacas, which played an important role in earlier times. A curious note about the panacas is that if you add the traditional panacas, you get a total of eight panacas for each dynasty, which is a frequent number in the Andean organization of the aillus because it is a multiple of the duality and of the quadrupling.

Hatun Rune

Drawing of Guamán Poma representing the Hatun Runa (peasants).

They were the bulk of the population that began their service to the state at the age of majority, hence its meaning "elderly man". They were the common population of the Inca empire that were dedicated to the activities of cattle raising, agriculture, fishing and crafts; they were the labor force. They could be disposed of to serve in the army and work the state lands, they could also be named "mitimaes" or "yana".

Until before getting married, parents were the ones who assigned work to their children. After the marriage, the man acquired responsibilities with the state. After marriage, the "hatun runa" owed benefits to the state for their entire lives. But before that, the children were having minor obligations that were increasing in responsibility with age. There were adolescents who were entrusted with the task of hauling loads for the state and the army; older adults were entrusted with auxiliary tasks in which greater judgment was required.

According to chronicles by Pedro Pizarro, the hunchbacks would have been used as court jesters and the women accompanied their men in rendering services, both for war and for agricultural work.

The Mitimaes (Mitmaqkuna)

Them Mitimae in agricultural activity, according to drawing Guamán Poma.

They were settlers who were transferred to other regions together with their families and under the command of their ethnic chief, these populations remained in remote territories for a determined time fulfilling tasks assigned by the state or by their own chiefs. These groups did not lose their communal rights, they also maintained ties of reciprocity and kinship. According to the chronicles, the "mitmaqkuna" kept their dresses and headdresses used in their towns of origin, and they also moved taking their goods with them.

The institutionality of the «mitmaq» existed before the Inca expansion, and arose from the need of the Andean peoples to access other ecological levels and exploit various resources that would complement their diet. During the period of greatest expansion of the empire, there were transformations in the institutionality of the "mitmaq", since the migratory movements were made over longer and more massive distances, preventing the group of "mitmaqkuna" from continuing in contact with their nucleus of origin.

These were transplanted populations with the aim of producing goods that would later be redistributed. In some cases the population was transferred as a sign of trust and in others as punishment; the difference lay in the living conditions of each other (punished and rewarded). Cieza de León affirms that there were members of the Cuzco elite who were transferred with their families to teach the Inca language and traditions, these were chosen as a sign of trust and were given "chacras", houses, gifts, luxury objects, honors and even women as a reward for having to travel far from Cuzco.

Yanaconas

The Yanaconas (yanakunas) or simply Yanas, are a population group that is difficult to define as they were populations extracted from their ethnic group for specific tasks but in some cases they had important governmental functions arriving, in some cases, to be curacas and even have "acllas" granted by the Inca.

Basically, the "yanakuna" were a population chosen for their abilities to provide a special service, Yanakuna groups taken from Chan Chan to Cuzco for their metallurgical services are documented, as well as Cañaris groups transferred to the Yucay valley for the cultivation of corn. In the case of the corn production of the cañaris of Yucay, it served for direct feeding of the panacas from Cuzco.

The institutionalization of this population group is documented through stories collected by European chroniclers. According to some accounts, the "yanas" were a population that rebelled and whose lives were spared in exchange for perpetually serving the Inca sovereign. This rebellion took place in Yanayaco; according to legend, just as they were about to be executed, Mama Ocllo interceded for them and asked them to be at his service. According to Rostworowski, the Inca delivered the Yana population to the "coya" when he got married.

The “yana” population was also handed over by the Inca to other curacas for special services, in this case they did what the person in charge ordered. The yanas were distributed throughout almost the entire empire, "yanas" are documented in the care of the mummies of the Inca sovereigns; Likewise, the sun and the huacas had "yanas" at their service (Cieza de León describes the yanas in charge of the huacas of "Huanacaure" and "Huarochirí").

The first Europeans identified the “yanas” as populations without rights, comparing them with the conception of slaves that existed in Europe in those years. However, there is information that rules out this possibility that was published by J. Murra; this information indicates that the "yanas" had the right to receive land for their livelihood. Research by W. Espinoza indicates that the status of "yana" was common before the empire and their number increased as the territory expanded.

Pineapples

Some scholars identify them as slaves, and despite not appearing in the chronicles, it is known about them because they were described in Quechua dictionaries. According to research by Rostorowsky, these dictionaries mention that the "pinakuna" were prisoners of war and occupied a lower level on the Inca scale. According to W. Espinoza, he points out that the institutionalization of the "piñakuna" is late and the one who institutionalized it was Huayna Capac; From this period on, all those prisoners of war who did not admit his defeat became part of the "piñakunas". This happened with some groups of pastures, carangues, cayambes, quitos, cañaris and chachas.

The situation of the "piñacunas" was extensive for their partners and children, remaining the property of the Inca state, sending them to work in areas of difficult access, generally in coca fields in the mountain jungle; there is evidence that the state also provided them with land for their own subsistence.

Population control system

The Incarios extended their rule under different ethnic groups. It is estimated that the total population of the empire was between 16 to 18 million, depending on the sources.

Economic activities

Agriculture was the main economic activity in Tahuantinsuyo.

Upon reaching the Inca empire, the Spanish agreed to highlight the success of their economy. The chroniclers described the products they found in the deposits, praising the abundance of production both in agriculture and in livestock; Europeans also praised the equitable distribution of these products among the population.

The chronicles agree that the success of the Inca economy was based on a correct administration of resources, to make this administrative form effective, warehouses were built and quipus were used as an accounting system.

Although the chronicles mention that the wealth of the Incas was based on the delivery of tributes, recent research shows that this was not the case; rather the success of the empire was achieved in a correct administration of the workforce, Pease affirms that this achieved that the state has the necessary production for redistribution.

The work for redistributive production was rotating (mita) and was delivered periodically by the ayllus of the Inca empire. This system was not an Inca creation, since it was based on traditional forms of administration. The Incas took this system to its maximum expression, storing production and redistributing it according to state needs and interests.

The base of the economy was agriculture; the lands were communal. Each family had their land to cultivate and feed themselves. The most numerous families, received more land.

The way of working the land was the minka, that is, "they helped each other in agricultural tasks in a community way." The Fuenterrebollo Portal tells us that "... well when an individual had so much work that he could not handle it, or in the case of orphans, the sick and widows." «When certain necessary species could not be cultivated (potatoes, for example), part of the community settled in other areas. This way of obtaining resources was known as "ecological complementarity".

The basic diet of the Incas was potatoes and corn, supplemented with meat of auquénidos: llama and alpaca. In the highlands of the Andes, up to 200 species of potatoes, differing in color and size, were grown and harvested. To avoid their decomposition and for the purpose of storing them or for feeding their large army, especially when they went out on campaigns, they learned to dry and cut potatoes (lyophilization), a product called Chuño, then, before consuming them, they hydrated them again and they were cooked They supplemented this diet with other vegetables such as olluco, oca, tomato, beans, pumpkin, chili, peanuts (from which they also extracted oil), quinoa and fruits.

The Incas not only cultivated flat or semi-sloping land, they used an ingenious system to cultivate the slopes of the hills, this technique consisted of forming terraces, called “andenes”, which they filled with topsoil that was contained with walls of stone. In addition to the wool provided by the auquénidos, they planted, harvested and used cotton to make their clothing. In the lands corresponding to the high jungle, they planted and harvested the “sacred leaf”: coca.

They caught various species of fish and hunted wild birds. To maintain such a large amount of planted land, the Incas were great hydraulic engineers: many of the irrigation canals in the sierra still work perfectly today and irrigate the new farmland.

Land tenure

The possession of the land was a right that the settlers had for belonging to a certain ethnic group. The curacas distributed the land according to the needs of the individuals and their families. The unit of measurement was the "tupu", but the dimensions of the "tupu" could vary according to the yield of the land. According to this, a domestic unit received 1 1/2 tupu, when a male child was born they were assigned an additional tupu and if a woman was born they were assigned an additional 1/2 tupu; if the children married, the additional tupus were withdrawn from the family.

Some chroniclers indicate that the distribution of the lands was annual, Guamán Poma points out that this distribution was made after the harvest in the eighth month of the Inca calendar and that this activity received the name of "chacraconacuy" (this corresponded to the months of July and August). John Murra points out that this annual ceremony was a land reaffirmation ceremony and that there was continuity in land tenure by each family. The "chacraconacuy" ceremony contemplated the fertilization of the land, the cleaning and repair of canals and ditches, as well as sacrifices to the "pachamama".

The chronicles state that after a conquest, land and livestock were declared "state property" and that they were later ceded to the conquered populations. In reality, land tenure after a conquest was conditioned by the wealth and resources that existed in that territory. Tuber growers were generally allowed to continue to own their land; On the other hand, it was common for groups that produced corn and coca to have their lands expropriated to dedicate them to the state or to cults, taking into account that this production was especially important for the Inca religion.

It has been documented that in Chincha, for every "huaranca" (thousand domestic units) 1 farm was taken. In other cases, the Incas expanded the agricultural frontier (building platforms and canals) to take this expansion in the name of the state, then these lands were worked by the conquered ethnic group. Another modality was to place mitmakunas in the colonies of the conquered ethnic group, as happened with the Lupaka.

There was a marked differentiation between state lands and those destined for worship, these were administered independently and their crops were stored separately. Inti, Mamaquilla, Chuquiilla, Pachamama had lands assigned to their cult, as well as the sanctuaries of mythical ancestors such as Huanacaure; In addition, the state, in many cases, assigned land to the deities of the conquered ethnic groups. Labor for the work of state and cult lands was obtained from the mita.

The Merchants

In the Spanish chronicles the existence of merchants is mentioned, these merchants were basically inhabitants of the coasts who were dedicated to the exchange of products. In this regard, María Rostworowski clarifies that the context used for the word "merchant" at the time of the Inca empire must be understood in the environment of an economy alien to the use of currency in which only "barter" (exchange) existed.

There were two important groups of traffickers, the so-called «Chinchano traffickers» and the «Northern traffickers». The Chinchanos had two routes, a maritime route in which they went north on rafts carrying copper and bringing mullu, this route reached Manta and Portoviejo, there was another land route that went from Chincha to Cuzco.

The northerners had two levels, a first level that was in charge of drying fish and then moving it to the neighboring sierra and exchanging them; the other level corresponded to the settlers who did not own any type of land and who only traded woolen clothing, beads, cotton, beans, fish, salt, and other things. These specialists in the exchange were called "mindalaes" and they traded in present-day Ecuador.

Agriculture

Since the Andes were a predominantly agricultural society, the Incas knew how to make the most of the soil, overcoming the adversities offered by the rugged Andean terrain and inclement weather. The adaptation of agricultural techniques that were previously used in different parts, allowed the Incas to organize the production of various products, both from the coast, the mountains and the jungle, in order to redistribute them to towns that did not have access to other regions. The technological achievements, achieved at the agricultural level, would not have been possible without the workforce that was available to the Inca, as well as the road network that allowed the resources already harvested to be adequately stored and distributed throughout their territory. Terrace crops were also grown.

Farm tools

The ancient Peruvians of Cuzco used to carry out their agricultural work, since they did not have a team due to the lack of animals, the human-powered plow they called the tajlla or chaquitajlla, which is a pointed stick, with a somewhat curved tip, which was sometimes made of stone or metal. Before its terminal, this tool had another transversal stick, the farmer supported his foot to sink it into the ground and then make the furrow. The Inca hand tools used in agriculture have not been surpassed, especially when it comes to working on the Andean slopes or in limited areas such as terraces.

Fertilizers

The importance of agriculture led the indigenous people to look for fertilizers for their crops. The information we have on fertilizers comes from the coast and shows the use of renewable natural resources. The main fertilizers used are named by the chroniclers and were used mainly for the production of corn, which would confirm Murra's suggestion about the priority of this crop. A first fertilizer consisted of burying along with the grains, small fish such as sardines or anchovies. A representation of this system was painted on the walls of one of the Pachacámac sanctuaries where there was a corn plant germinating from some little fish. The second fertilizer used was the dung of the seabirds that by the thousands nest on the offshore islands. The resource called guano was formed by the droppings of birds and the costeños used to extract guano from the islands. The third renewable resource came from the mulch of fallen leaves from the Huarangos used to improve the soil.

The platforms

Andenes in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The Incas had a special concern for finding ways to improve soil conditions for agriculture. The variety of the climate and the difficult territory led them to seek diverse solutions, and there were many ways they found to deal with the problem. Among the best known measures are the construction of platforms, which during the Inca government was given great importance. Although they demanded the mobilization of large amounts of labor, which the Inca state could do with relative ease. The terraces are artificial agricultural terraces that serve to obtain useful land for planting on the steep Andean slopes. They made it possible to make better use of the water, both rainy and irrigated, making it circulate through the channels that communicated its various levels, with this measure avoiding hydraulic erosion of the soil at the same time. The terraces were not only used for the cultivation of corn, but also for the cultivation of different agricultural products, and even for different uses: for crops, to prevent erosion, for washing mineral salt, etc.

The ridges

View of a Camellón or Waru waru.

They were artificial lands built on the shores of Lake Titicaca. They were mounds of earth that made it possible to store and make better use of water in places of frequent flooding due to the rains. They used a series of agricultural techniques on the ridges, among them, the layout of artificial furrows to protect the plants, facilitate drainage during rains, floods, irrigation, as sources of fertilizer and, especially, to reduce the harsh cold at night. in the heights, thus avoiding frost.

Irrigation systems

The Cumbemayo aqueduct is part of this hydraulic work.

Architectural detail of the Cumbemayo aqueduct.

Hydraulic knowledge -canals and intakes- allowed irrigation and cultivation, especially corn. The Peruvian coast is characterized by its extensive deserts cut by rivers that flow down the mountains and whose flows allow the emergence of agriculture. The costeños were the greatest hydraulic engineers since they perfected and achieved quite sophisticated irrigation methods, especially the Mochicas and later the Chimúes. In Cuzco, the two streams that cross the city were channeled, paving their beds and establishing pedestrian bridges. An example of mountain technology is Cumbemayo, in Cajamarca, a channel carved into the stone. The importance of hydraulic works is manifested in the numerous myths that tell the origins of these works.

Agricultural products

Along with livestock, agriculture represented the basis of the Inca economy. The populations that inhabited the Andean area managed to domesticate and acclimatize a great variety of products to different conditions, taking advantage of land considered difficult for agricultural production. The main product that they cultivated was the potato, with which they prepared different types of chuño; also other tubers such as mashua, olluco and oca. Maize was considered a luxury-type resource that conferred prestige and was cultivated for bureaucratic, military, and ceremonial purposes. On the coast they cultivated sweet potatoes, beans, etc.

Livestock

Camelids were an essential resource of Tahuantisuyo. The Inca State was concerned to supply both the flesh and the fiber of these animals.

In the pre-Hispanic Andes, camelids played a truly important role in the economy. In particular, it was the llama and the alpaca (the only camelids domesticated by Andean man) that, raised in large-scale herds, were used for different purposes within the Inca production system. Likewise, two other species of camelids without domestication were used: the vicuña and the guanaco. The first of these was hunted through chacos (collective hunts) to be sheared (with livestock tools such as stones, knives, stone axes and metal axes such as copper) and then released; This is how they ensured that their quantity was maintained. Guanacos, on the other hand, were hunted for their meat, which was highly prized. The chroniclers point out that the meat of all the camelids was eaten, but due to the restrictions that existed for their slaughter, their consumption must have been a luxury. The population probably had access to fresh meat only in the military or on ceremonial occasions, when slaughtered animals were widely distributed. In colonial times, the pastures were disappearing or becoming impoverished exclusively due to the massive presence of animals introduced by the Spanish and their eating habits. The Andean environment underwent a considerable change with the domestic animals that arrived with the Hispanic presence.

Work

There was an obligation among the surrounding population to maintain the Empire ' s road infrastructure. In the photo, residents in the ritual of renewal of the Queshuachaca Bridge, ritual that remains from the incaic era to the present.

Work represented the main activity of the Inca empire and presented the following forms: mita, minca and ayni.

• La Mita It was a system of work in favour of the State, where multitudes of indigenous people were mobilized to work for three months in the construction of roads, bridges, fortresses, administrative centers, temples, aqueducts, mine exploitation, etc. There was a myth for special services such as the cargo work of the Sapa Inca, musicians, chasquis and dancers, those forced to perform this work were the married adult men, but not the women, understood between the ages of 18 and 50.
• La Minca, minkaor minga, is the work done in works for the ayllu and the Sun (Inti), a kind of communal work free of charge and in turn, was a form of benefit for the State, where many families attended by carrying their own tools, meals and drinks. Families were involved in the construction of premises, irrigation channels, as well as assistance in the farm of the orphaned and elderly disabled. When the ayllu summoned the work of the mincaNo one refused, but people who did not attend work were expelled from the job ayllu and lost their right to the earth.
• The Ayni was a system of family reciprocity work among members of the ayllu, intended for agricultural work and construction of houses. The ayni It was the help of jobs that a group of people did to members of a family, with the condition that it corresponded in the same way when they needed it, as they say: "Today for you, tomorrow for me" and in retribution they served meals and drinks during the days of the work. This tradition continues in many peasant communities in Peru, helping in the work of cooking, grazing and housing construction.

Inca Administration

The verbal contractual basis of the administration of goods and services was frequently based on two basic principles: reciprocity and redistribution.

Reciprocity and redistribution

• reciprocity is the exchange of work or goods, or reciprocal work, it was both the tradition of this concept that, among the incas, was not seen as an exchange of favors but as a responsibility with the members of the aillu, which is why this was practiced within an aillu and except with few exceptions between neighboring aillus. By being the clan or aillu the basic economic structure and by being based on the family ties, the sovereign formed ties with the healers (aillu bosses), giving their daughters a marriage or marrying the daughters of the healers, in any way, the Inca Sapa was related to all its empire, thus becoming a kind of Maximum Curaca. We note this last to understand symmetric reciprocity and asymmetric reciprocity.

The basis that sustained symmetrical reciprocity, or mutual and reciprocal support between relatives within the aillu, was given by the common possession of the land, exploited communally for specialized production and pastures, and in a family manner in the parts dedicated to subsistence cultivation. The land of the aillu was divided into a certain number of sectors, taking into account their ecological conditions and the rotating cycles of the crops, each family having the right to have access to land in each of the sectors, which determined an effort to control the maximum of ecological floors. Kinship represented the regulatory system for the organization of production relations, distinguishing between close and distant relatives. Among the former, reciprocity in the relations of production and distribution was generalized, while among the latter it was more specific because the benefits that were exchanged were accounted for to be returned in the same form and quantity.

Asymmetric reciprocity occurred between the members of the aillu and the Inca, in exchange for the collection of surpluses, the Inca offered his subjects external security and assistance in case of misfortunes. It consisted of the distribution of surpluses by the Inca State. In case of drought or plagues, for example, the officials of the empire supplied the affected regions with surpluses from favored regions, the products were stored in the so-called "Tambos" to dispose of them in case of need.

• Redistribution It was the recognition by the peasants of the different levels of authority that existed in society. The aillus handed the tribute to the priests, and the taxed goods accumulated in royal deposits that were in villages, roads and cities.

When some peoples of the Empire could not satisfy their basic needs because the regions in which they lived had been affected by bad harvests or other catastrophes, the Inca State redistributed a part of the stored food, raw materials and manufactured products.

He also used the accumulated assets to pay for the expenses of the constant military expeditions, and to reward the services performed by some officials, generally nobles.

Road network (Qhapaq Ñan)

Incay. Much of the Inca road and some transverse road networks were covered by stone blocks or lajas.

The Qhapaq Ñan was a system of roads of enormous distances in the Inca civilization that linked the important cities of the coast and the mountains. It was structured based on two longitudinal axes: the mountainous sector and the flat coastal sector. This system of the Incas was a millennial legacy of pre-Inca cultures, strengthened during the Inca state.

All these roads were connected to Cusco, the capital of the Tahuantinsuyo or Inca Empire, they facilitated its communication with the different towns annexed within the framework of the Inca expansive process and, at the same time, constituted an effective means of political-administrative integration, socio-economic and cultural. Since the Qhapaq Ñan interconnected towns as far apart as Quito, Cusco, and Tucumán, the Spanish conquistadores used it during the [[16th century]] to invade Peru, Bolivia, Chile and the Argentine Andean pampas

Currently, the theory of the Inca construction of a road that connects Cuzco with the Atlantic coast of Brazil in the state of São Paulo is being postulated. This road has the name Peabirú (note the coincidence in the last two syllables with the word "Birú" original name of Peru).

Supply systems

Conchamarca tambo en el Camino Inca a Machu Picchu.

El Tambo was an enclosure located next to an important road used by itinerant state personnel as a shelter and as a collection center for administrative and military purposes. Its importance is that the tambos are the buildings with the greatest presence throughout the Inca Empire. The Inca trail (Qhapaq Ñan) had dairy farms 20 or 30 km (a day's walk) apart. Its main function was to house the chasquis (emissaries) and the Inca officials who traveled these roads. There is no information if they housed ordinary men. People from nearby communities were recruited to serve in the tambos as part of the work system called mita.

In addition to serving as shelter, it is known that the tambos were collection centers for food, wool, firewood or other basic materials for food. In this way, in times of climatic hardships or natural disasters, the tambos fed and provided some materials for the population of the nearest villages. Since agriculture was the main source of food for the inhabitants of the Inca Empire, the administration established these places as a warehouse where food could be stored in case of emergency, thus ensuring the good life of the population.

The snaps

Chasqui touching the whore.

The chasquis were young runners who carried a message or message through the Tahuantinsuyo postal system, moving from one post to the next.

He was the personal messenger of the Inca, who used a post system to deliver messages or objects. Fundamentally they transported the information in the Quipu that had been elaborated by the Quipucamayoc. Simply put, the chasquis were like the postmen of Inca royalty.

The chasquis were skilled old men and physically prepared from an early age, and they traveled through a system of posts (tambos), the extensive roads built by the Inca state, since an order to suspend a war action could depend on them. on time or reinforcements will arrive for a battle. They were sons of curacas, trustworthy people.

He always carried a pututu, a snail trumpet, to announce his Peruvian arrival and alert his relief; As weapons he carried a baton and a huaraca, a quipu, where he brought the information, a strap on his back, where he carried objects and parcels, a stick, and on his head, a plume of white feathers as a visual identifier. "They say that a snail from Colombia arrived alive at the Inca, in Cuzco."

They also served as spies for the empire and the nobility to have war strategies against the other peoples and cultures of Latin America in pre-Columbian times.

Army

Idealized image of the Inca Army (Brüning Museum, Lambayeque).

The army was a very important institution whose main task was the conquest of new territories to annex them to the empire, although it also played an important role in keeping recently conquered ethnic groups under the rule of Cuzco, such as the Guallas, Sahuasiray, Antasayas, etc.

Apparently the command was dual, since at the head were chiefs representing the Hanan and Hurin moieties. There were permanent cadres in the hands of members of the Inca lineages, including the Inca and his closest relatives. The training of the members of the elite had a strong military component, their initiation ceremonies paying much attention to military aptitude and physical resistance.

Starting with the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, professional soldiers began to be trained, completely detached from productive tasks. This is the case of the Inca's personal guard as well as warrior and hereditary castes.

Religion

Divinities of the Inca, according to the drawing of Guamán Poma.

Religion was constantly present in all areas of Inca work. In the legends of the formation of the Inca empire, a marked sexual difference between men and women is perceived. They were polytheists (that is, they believed in several gods), highlighting the cult of the "Sun God (Inti)".

Andean Cosmovision

According to Inca mythology, there were three different worlds, which had been created by the Inca god Viracocha (also known as Wiracocha or Huiracocha). The division was done as follows:

1. Hanan Pacha (world above, celestial or supraterrestrial): It was a celestial world and only righteous people could enter it, crossing a bridge made of hair. In the Andean tradition, Hanan Pacha was defined as the upper world where gods such as Viracocha, Inti, Mama Quilla, Pachacamac, Mama Cocha, etc. lived. He was represented by the condor, an ancestral bird of the Andes.

2. Kay Pacha (world of the present and here): It is the name of the earthly world, where human beings live and spend their lives. Represented by the puma, an animal on foot, of the terrestrial world.

3. Uku Pacha (world below or world of the dead): It was the world below or world of the dead, of unborn children and everything that was below the surface of the earth or sea. The sources, caves or other openings in the earth's surface were considered lines of communication between the Uku Pacha and the Kay Pacha. Represented by the serpent, a creeping animal from the depths.

Temples

• Easter

• Temple of the Sun (Coricancha), in Cuzco.

• Temple of the Moon.

• Temple of Pachacámac (destroyed).

• Temple of Urpi Huachac.

• Pilgrims' Square.

Festivities

As well as of a collective nature. The moments of vital transit, rites of passage, stages of astral cycles, arrival of the rains, of the harvest were celebrated. We have for example:

The Incas constituted the ruling vertex of an imperial state backed by its central nobility, and the policy of integration and domination, initiated by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. They succeeded in consolidating power over an immense territory and growing population in their four regions or regions.

Inca gods

Wiracocha

Wiracocha, “God of all things created”.

His full name, in order to emphasize his quality as supreme being, is: Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqucha (Apu Kon Titi Viracocha). He was considered as the original splendor or The Lord, Teacher of the World. He was actually the first divinity of the ancient Peruvians, both the inhabitants of Caral, Chavín, Wari and especially the Tiahuanacos, who came from Lake Titicaca. He arose from the waters, created heaven and earth.

The cult of the god assumed a concept of the abstract and the intellectual, and was intended only for the nobility. Huiracocha, like other gods, was a nomadic god and had a winged companion, the Inti Bird, a kind of magician bird, aware of the present and the future. This magical bird is none other than the Corikente of oral traditions, the golden hummingbird, messenger of the gods, whose feathers were used for the mascaipacha or imperial crown of the Inca. Huiracocha is represented with two rods, which apparently were really estólicas (propulsalanzas) or warakas (giant Andean slingshots).

Inti (Sun)

Inti, “The Sun God”.

He was the sun god and supreme god, who exercised the sovereignty of the present in the divine plane (Hanan Pacha). He was also the son of the sun god of the ancient world (Ñaupapacha) and reigned over the human being in the current world (Kaypacha). Inti was the most important popular divinity of the Inca empire, worshiped in several sanctuaries. Offerings of gold, silver and cattle were given to him, as well as the so-called Virgins of the Sun. Human offerings were also made to him in the month of the Capac hucha, which often consisted of death prisoners, as the most important god.

Mama Quilla (Moon)

She was the moon mother and Inti's wife. Mother of the firmament, there was a statue of her in the Temple of the Sun, in which an Order of Priestesses worshiped her. The ancient Moche, unlike the Incas, considered the Moon the main deity.

Pacha Mama

Also called Mother Earth since she was in charge of promoting fertility in the fields. Offerings or payments were made to her.

Pachacámac

It was a reissue of Viracocha, which was venerated on the Central Coast of the Inca empire. He was known as the god of tremors, and his cult made an apparent syncretism with the current Lord of Miracles, which has features of this ancient pagan god according to historian Maria Rostworowski.

Mama Sarah

She was the Mother of Corn or of food, the most important of the conopas (religious representations) of food along with coca and potatoes.

Mama Cocha

Mother of the Sea, who was worshiped to calm rough waters and for good fishing. She was the mother who represented all that was feminine.

Lesser Gods

Apart from the great Wiracocha and his earthly court of Amauta, or wise men and first priests and administrators, the second cordon of clerics, the military nobility and the ayllus or guilds, governed to the smallest movement by the law of the Inca, the common people had their pantheon with other lesser gods, to whom -perhaps- it was easier and closer to turn to in search of favors and solutions.

The curly or morning star accompanied the Sun, as did Illapa, god of thunder and battle, like the image of the gold star, the evening star, Venus or Chasca, made his guard next to the Moon, and Chuychú, the beautiful rainbow was below both great gods. The rainbow was later elevated to the god of the nobles because it represented the beauty that was reserved for the nobles.

The Constellations of the Coca Cup (Kukaa Manka) was a constellation that took care of magical herbs, like the constellation of the Corn Cup (Sara Manca) did it with vegetable food, and the jaguar (Chinchay) was in charge of the cats. The Wasikamayuq was the tutelary god of the home, while the Qhaxra-kamayuq strove to prevent thieves from entering that same house, and the Auquis they assumed the vigilance of each town. There was also a god of storms and another god of hail; behind Pacha Mama, the goddess of the Earth, were Apu katikil and Pikiru, as tutelary gods of the twins; the serpent Hurkaway was the divinity of what was underground, while the greedy Supay reigned in the world of the dead and never ceased to claim more and more victims for his cause, which made the Spaniards give him the name of devil, although he had benign and evil qualities.

There was also the god Wakon or Kon, a brother of Pachacamac expelled by him and who took with him, when forced to leave, the rain and left the coastal strip of Peru dry forever, an evil god and devourer of children, cruel laughter and ability to roll down the mountains; Other brothers, Temenduare and Arikuté, gave rise to the deluge with their complaints, conjuring up a fearsome monster with hundreds of legs of water.

In total and according to some oral traditions, the first sun of the world or ancient earth (Ñaupa pacha) was Viracocha, who created his court and had four children: Kon or Wakon god of droughts, Mallko (Temenduare?) god of law, Vichama (Arikute?) god of war and revenge and Pachacamac, who successively ruled the current world, successively destroying it. These are related to the 4 brothers of the myth of the Ayar brothers, one of the myths of the creation of the Inca empire. Pachakamac in turn had as children the sun and the moon of the current world or Kay Pacha. Pachakamac exiled himself to the sea from where he dominates the earthquakes, leaving the world in command to his son Inti or sun of the current world.

There are other "huacas" or gods, like Catequil, powerful oracle god. Hualllo Carhuincho, god of fire with evil features; Wari, giant god of war referring to the culture of the same name; Amaru, the divine mythological serpent, among many others named in countless oral traditions recently compiled by fans such as Toro Montalvo and members of the Dragones de sur association.

Material and immaterial culture

Architecture

Machu Picchu is one of the most representative examples of inca architecture.

Acllahuasi in Pachacámac.

Fortress of Sacsayhuamán.

It was, without a doubt, the most advanced art of the Tahuantinsuyo. It developed under the demands of the Cuzco nobility, who, interested in asserting their power, built giant lithic constructions, imposing reverence and astonishment in the communities, whose collective work, subject to state exploitation (mita) made such buildings possible along the Tahuantinsuyo, especially in its center of power: Cuzco.

Its architecture was characterized by its solidity, simplicity and symmetry. In the imperial period, its doors and windows were always trapezoidal in shape, a formal symbol of the Incas in their llactas or urban administrative bases. Various construction techniques were used: ceramic models, instruments such as the rope level, special clay to move the carved granite blocks or also boulders and inclined planes to ascend stones weighing several tons to a great height (they were filled with earth from the ground floor to the exact height where the stone had to be placed); There is also evidence of the use of spikes and boxes to make the construction solid, joining the stones perfectly without using any type of mortar.

Architecture is commonly classified, according to its purpose, into the following types:

Inca architectural forms

• Kanchas
• Kallankas
• Ushnu
• Tamba
• The Acllahuasi

Provincial administrative centers

As the empire expanded, provincial centers were built from which the different conquered regions were administered. State planning implied the use of clay models in which entire valleys to a building were represented, before starting to build it. On the coast, the stone was usually replaced by mud or adobe.

• Tambo Colorado
• Huánuco Pampa
• Tomebamba
• Cajamarca
• Quito
• Shincal
• Batungasta
• Lumbra
• Los Huacos-Hualmay
• La Paya-Guitián
• Paria Vieja
• Uma Porco
• Cochabamba
• Pumpu
• Aypate
• Curamba
• Armatambo
• Santiago de Chile
• Farfán
• The Vineyard
• Moqi
• Sama La Antigua
• Cabeza de Vaca
• Huacones-Vilcahuasi

Religious constructions

• Vilcashuamán
• Coricancha in Quenqo
• Inticancha
• Tambomachay (Water sources)

Military and commemorative constructions

Given the domination and exploitation of the Cuzco nobility over other nations, the Incas had to always assert their supremacy with a military presence, for which they built fortresses

• Incahuasi
• Sacsayhuaman
• Puka
• Pisaq

Elite architecture

• Ollantaytambo
• Puca
• Machu Picchu

Ceramics

Inca or Urpu rhythm, Inca Imperial style.

Pottery: They were works of a utilitarian nature and for ceremonial purposes, they were polychrome, pre-fired with a polished surface:

Without much brilliance or lively nuances. They stand out, in particular:

• Urpu or pry them: For the most part, jars or vessels for the processing of chicha; of conical base and widened body to avoid the rapid decomposition of the liquid
• Asa dishes: rounded dishes with handles, often decorated with an animal head. They also made wooden glasses, the keros. With dark background and drawings of human and Camelid faces

Textiles

Uncu or uncanny poncho. Representation with more than 150 geometric designs or playpus.

Tocapus of the Incas.

Textile art in Peru had its antecedents in Huaca Prieta. It reached its maximum development with the Paracas and later with the Chancay. During the Andean classism ended with the Incas. The dresses made of fabrics of different qualities were an expression of social differences.

We have, for example:

• Abbec fabrics: blankets of acuchas (ponchitos) of the hatun runas, made of camélidos wool, dyed in white, brown and black
• Cumbi or cumpi fabrics: garments of finisimas, of vicuña wool, interwoven with bat hairs, with fine multicolored embroidery and geometric figures called tokapus, which according to William Burns was a writing system parallel to the quillca, drawings on the walls.

These cumbi were adorned with feathers, precious metal plates and beads, colored shells like beads, etc. Its preparation was in charge of the acllas in the acllahuasi or textile workshops. The cumbi were only used by the nobility

Sculpture

Inca stone head with llauto and mascapaicha. It is believed to be a representation of the ruler Inca Viracocha. Museo de América de Madrid.

The works made in stone constitute the other great set of Inca achievements that are worth highlighting. It is usually limited to zoomorphic representations of auquénidos, llamas, vicuñas and alpacas, and phytomorphs, ears of corn, which are known as conopas and numerous bowls and containers popularly called mortars. Rooted in Andean artistic traditions, the Incas knew how to imprint their own original character on their works, which was based on a simplification of shapes by means of simple geometric volumes and a schematization of decorative motifs very close to a geometric and cubist aesthetic conception.. Inca art was characterized by sobriety, geometry and synthesis, tending more towards the practical and functional than the formal.

Painting

Painting as an aesthetic expression manifested itself in murals and cloaks. Bonavía points out the difference between walls painted in one or several colors and murals with designs or motifs representing different scenes.

The painted murals were applied to walls plastered with mud using temple paint, a different technique from that used for cave paintings. By the Early Horizon, paint was applied directly to the plastered wall, whereas during the Early Intermediate' Period white paint was covered over the plastered wall and then applied. the desired drawing. Another means used at the same time consisted of tracing incised motifs on wet clay and then filling it in with paint.

In the Moche period, mural paintings and high relief clay paintings were used, such as those discovered in the Huaca de la Luna and in the Huaca del Brujo, in the department of La Libertad, about 5 km south of Trujillo.

The technique and the use of cloaks painted on plain cotton fabrics was customary throughout the coast, with greater emphasis in the north. Still around the years from 1570 to 1577, there were artists specialized in the art of painting cloaks who carried out their trade moving from one place or another. At that time, these artisans requested permission from the oidor to use their art and go freely through the valleys without being hindered.

In museums and private collections you can appreciate these cloaks, perhaps used to cover bare walls or serve as clothing for important gentlemen.

Another line within pictorial art was the making of a kind of painted maps that represented a place or a region. The chronicler Betanzos recounts that after the defeat of the Chancas inflicted by Prince Cusi Yupanqui, the Cuzco dignitaries appeared before him to offer him the tassel and found him painting the changes he intended to introduce in Cuzco.

This news would not be enough to confirm such a practice if the affirmation in the trial held by the Canta and Chaclla ethnic groups in 1558-1570 were not supported by another reference. One of the litigants presented there before the Royal Audience of the Kings the drawings of his valley indicating his territorial claims, while the latter exhibited a clay model of the entire valley. Sarmiento de Gamboa said that when a valley was conquered, a model was made and presented to the Inca, who, in front of those in charge of executing the changes, was informed of his wishes.

Feather art

The plumeria garments manifest an aesthetic taste for color and were used in blankets, shirts, fans and umbrellas to protect the characters carried on a litter from the sun. The brilliant tones of the feathers used indicate a jungle origin, with which we conclude that there must have been an exchange throughout the country between the jungle, the mountains, and the coast.

The chronicler Santa Cruz Pachacuti recounts that for major events, such as the marriage of Huayna Cápac with his sister the day he received the tassel or mascaipacha insignia of power, the thatched roofs of the palaces and temples of Cuzco with the most showy blankets made with multicolored feathers. The spectacle must have been magnificent and overwhelming, since the bright colors of the roofs offset the sobriety of the stones and the gold borders of the palatial walls.

Goldsmith and metallurgy

The Andean area of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador was the cradle of metallurgy at the South American level and emerged without any influence from the Old World.

There were two metallurgical centers, one in the Peruvian-Bolivian altiplano area and the other on the north coast in the Mochica-Lambayeque region. From these two places the knowledge spread to the south, towards Chile and Argentina, and to the north, to Colombia and Panama to later reach the western coasts of Mexico.

Metallurgy in the Andes is very old and its creators achieved the most varied techniques and alloys.

There were expert silversmiths throughout the coast and during the Inca heyday their rulers established mitimaes in Cuzco for the production of luxury objects. Various documents name these groups from Chimú, Pachacámac, Ica and Chincha. It is probable that his works followed the Inca aesthetic tastes. We know of the establishment in Zurite, near Cuzco, of some yanas silversmiths from Huayna Cápac, from Huancavilca (present-day Ecuador) who resided on the sovereign's land and whose obligation was to manufacture objects for the Inca.

The numerous presence in Cuzco of indigenous silversmiths was subsequently used by the oidores, corregidores and encomenderos to make personal gold and silver tableware, circumventing the obligation of the king's fifth. For this reason, there are few silver pieces from the XVI century in Peru that have hallmarks.

Copper and copper alloys were used to create weapons; Like bronze, especially for the production of ceremonial knives and axes for the nobility, it is also believed that they used platinum and iron, although only for the production of small ornaments.

Music

The quena, is perhaps (together with the zampoña) the most representative instrument of inca music.

The Incas had several wind and percussion musical instruments among which are: the quena, the tinya or Wankar, the zucchini, the zampoña and the drumstick. Music played an important role on different occasions. It is known that there was love, war, funeral and agricultural music. Inca music was made up of five musical notes.

One characteristic was the playing of music during agricultural work on state land, which turned the hard work in the field into pleasant meetings.

The musical instruments used in the corporal manifestations were diverse according to the dances to be interpreted, the members, the regions or the reasons for the celebrations.

Flutes were one of the most popular instruments. The quenas were generally made with human bones while other flutes were made of clay, silver or, most commonly, reeds.

Among them, the cane sikus stand out and each instrument is divided into two halves with complementary tones and played by a pair of instruments. To form a melody it is necessary that both instruments play alternately when it corresponds to them and also simultaneously with the other registers.

The antaras or Pan flutes were made of ceramic with nine angled tubes, the reed ones were held together by thin ropes.

As for the trumpets found in the tombs on the coast, they belonged to one of the tributes of the Yungas lords. They are frequently found broken as their destruction is part of the funeral ritual.

The sea snail or Strombus has been represented since the time of Chavín de Huantar and in Quechua it is called huayllaquepa. The word pututu with which it is currently called comes from the Caribbean and was brought by the Spanish together with the words maíz, chicha and ají, among others. It is an adaptation of fututo because the letter "f" does not exist in Quechua.

A basic musical instrument was the drum. This could be of different sizes and sounds, and was used to mark the rhythm in dances and collective dances. There were small ones, illustrated by Guaman Poma, that were played by women; large, which were made with puma or otorongo skin and called poma tinya and finally, the runa tinya, made with human skin.

The compass was also marked with silver bells or seed clusters that were tied to the legs of the dancers. In the Moche culture, the great lords or the gods used large gold rattles tied to their waists, like those of the Lord of Sipan.

Among the peasant groups and in certain festivities or celebrations they blew on the dry heads of deer as if they were flutes and marked the steps of the dancers with them.

Literature

Before the Spanish conquest, there was a rich and varied oral literature in the area of the Inca Empire. Some samples of religious poetry, Quechua stories and legends have come down to us thanks to the fact that they were transcribed by chroniclers such as Cristóbal de Molina, the Cuzqueño, author of Fables and rites of the Incas (1575); Santa Cruz Pachacuti, evangelized indigenous defender of the Spanish Crown, who wrote the Relation of antiquities of this kingdom of Peru (1613), where he describes the Quechua religion and philosophy and collects in Quechua some poems from the oral tradition; the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616); and Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, whose work Nueva crónica y buen gobierno allows us to reconstruct a good part of the history and genealogy of the Incas, as well as many aspects of Peruvian society after the conquest.

Thanks to them and other chroniclers of the 17th century, a part of this legacy survived and is a living source for the later literature. That work was continued long after by modern and contemporary anthropologists, historians, and researchers. One of the most influential is José María Arguedas, also important for his novels, which underscores the importance of the bilingual and multicultural nature of Peru.

Languages of the Empire

Pre-incaic languages in the century XVI.

The Inca Empire was a multicultural and multilingual state, which included some of the regions with the highest cultural and linguistic diversity such as northern Peru, Ecuador and to a lesser extent eastern Bolivia. Some languages were widely used together with the Quechua languages. Among the most important languages, some that were associated with important pre-Inca kingdoms stand out. A non-extensive list of regionally important languages is:

• Puquina language, around Lake Titicaca.
• Aymara language, around Lake Titicaca and surrounding regions.
• Mochica language, northwest Peru and north coast.
• Quingnam language, on the central coast of Peru.
• Chacha language, in the territory dominated by the Chachapoyas.
• Cacán language, south of the empire.

Science and technology

Military Technology

The Incas were skilled metal forgers, they built bronze weapons and household objects. They built axes and maces for hand-to-hand contact and, among other military objects, also throwing weapons such as bows and arrows, also using slingshots called huaracas. Clubs with a star-shaped head with a hole in the center in order to place it on a stick are known.

Discoveries

According to the historian José Antonio del Busto with the maritime expedition carried out by Tupac Yupanqui, the Incas would have discovered Oceania, having reached Mangareva and Easter Island.^{[citation required]}

Astronomy

In Inca astronomy, the Sun stood out, and its worship seems to be a constant in ancient cultures, undoubtedly due to the role that the sun plays in the "agricultural calendar". The Incas worshiped the Sun primarily to provide abundant harvests. He was a dominant force and a symbol of prestige and power.

In Peru, the cult of the Sun became official due to the Inca conquests. These, who adored the Sun to the point of affirming that the rulers were their children, took their religion to all the towns that they subdued through war.

The Sun ("inti", in Quechua), which is usually represented by a large gold disc surrounded by rays, was worshiped in temples covered entirely in gold, as was the Koricancha or &# 34;yard of gold" in the city of Cuzco. It was also claimed that corn was the tears of the Sun due to the golden color of dried corn. Therefore, the drink that was made with corn was offered to the Sun: chicha.

The cult of the Sun had its apotheosis in the Festival of the Sun ("Inti Raymi" in Quechua) that until now is reproduced, every June 24, in the city of Cuzco.

Some chroniclers claim that the Incas could predict eclipses.

The use of astronomy, as in many cultures of the time, had a developed agricultural scope. The Incas were able to separate the seasons by sowing and harvest times for each type of product. This tool was achieved through the use of stone buildings (among which were the previously mentioned temples) aligned with the cardinal axes, the north was the referential guide used.

Medicine

The medicine that was practiced in the Incas was closely linked to magic and religion. All diseases were supposed to be caused by the detachment of the spirit from the body, due to a curse, a fright or a sin. The Inca healers came to carry out surgical interventions, such as cranial trepanations (previously practiced by the Paracas culture), with the purpose of eliminating fragments of bones or weapons, which were embedded in the skull, after accidents or warfare. One of the instruments used in Inca surgery was the "Tumi" or "T" shaped metal knife. Coca and chicha were used in large quantities as anesthesia and it is known that they also knew the use of bandages.

The Kallawaya doctors, traditional in the Andean region, have preserved a detailed ancient classification of plants and animals, which are considered to come from that time. These Kallawayas knew about quina, a highly effective plant against malaria.

Agritechnics

Andenes in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, near Písac, Cuzco.

It is estimated that the Incas cultivated about seventy plant species, including potatoes (Solanum tuberosum and others), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), maize (Zea mays), chili peppers, cotton (Gossypium barbadense), tomato, peanut (Arachis hypogaea), oca (Oxalis tuberosa) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa).

The main agricultural techniques, in terms of land disposal, were:

• Walks or terraces, to avoid erosion and take advantage of the slopes and hills.
• Waru waru, a technique in which grooves were rooted around the crops and filled with water to create a more stable microclimate than the environment.
• Few dry ones filled in rainy season. He was very employed on the coast. His name was just gaps (Qucha).

Their species improvement technique is also highlighted. They learned of the greater influence of soil temperature than air temperature on plants, as Moray's laboratory attests.

Livestock, on the other hand, was less favoured. This was due to the scarce Andean fauna. They used llamas as beasts of burden and alpacas as a source of food and clothing. The vicuna was also much appreciated. The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) was also raised, until today one of the main stews of Andean gastronomy.

Math and Writing

Quipukamayuq with his quipu and a yupana, the main instruments that used the incas in mathematics.

The contents or mathematical concepts were applied by the Incas, mainly, in the calculation of results and quantities of the Economy. Although important measurement systems were developed in the Inca, the quipus and yupanas are better known, which represent the important mathematical presence in the Inca administration. The quipus were mnemonic systems that consisted of knotted strips; only the results of the mathematical operations performed previously on the abacuses or yupana were knotted.

Spanish chroniclers narrate that the khipu kamayuqkuna read the history of the Incas in the knots of the quipus, recounting births, wars, conquests, names of nobles and times of such events. «Quipos are memorials or records made of branches, in which different knots and different colors mean different things. It is incredible what they achieved in this way, because as much as the books can say about stories, and laws, and ceremonies and business accounts, all of this is supplied by the quipus so punctually, that they admire". The writing that underlies the quipus has not yet has been decrypted. There is currently a study on the possible Inca writing, by the Englishman William Burns, who considers that it was of an alphanumeric character represented with geometric figures on looms and in drawings by the chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala that would have originated in the time of the ruler Pachacutec..

South American Bibliography

• Maria Rostworowski: History of the Tawantinsuyu Instituto de Estudios Peruanos Lima (1988) 6 thousand copies.
• Franklin Pease: History The Incas. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú PUCP- Fondo Editorial Lima (1991)
• Virgilio Roel Pineda: Peruvian culture and history of the Incas. Peruvian Wings University. Economic Culture Fund. Lima (2001)
• Waldemar Espinoza: The Incas. Economics Society and State in the Tahuantinsuyo Era. Amaru Editors. Lima (1987)
• Jesus Lara. The Culture of the Inkas. Editorial "The Friends of the Book". La Paz- Cochabamba (1967)
• José Antonio del Busto Duthurburu: History of Peru. Petro Peru Edition. Lima (2006)
• Lumbreras Editores History of Peru A Look at the Past.Peru Lima(2017)