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The economy of the Inca Empire, which lasted from 1438 to 1532, was based on local traditions of "solidarity" and "mutualism", transported to an imperial scale,[1] and established an economic structure that allowed for substantial agricultural production as well as the exchange of products between communities. It was based on the institution of reciprocity, considered the socioeconomic and political system of the Pre-Columbian Andes (similar to a form of serfdom).[2]
Inca society is considered to have had some of the most successful centrally organized economies in history.[3] Its effectiveness was achieved through the successful control of labor and the regulation of tribute resources. In Inca society, collective labor was the cornerstone for economic productivity and the achieving of common prosperity.[4] Members of an ayllu (the basic unit of socio-territorial organisation) developed various traditions of solidarity to adapt to the Andean environnement. The economic prosperity of the Inca State caused the Spanish conquerors to be impressed by the foreign forms of organisation.[5] According to each ayllu, labor was divided by region, with agriculture centralized in the most productive areas; ceramic production, road construction, textile production, and other skills were also tasks distributed among members of an ayllu.[6] After local needs were satisfied, the state apparatus gathered all surplus that is gathered from ayllus and allocated it where it was needed. Populations of local chiefdoms in the Inca Empire received clothes, food, health care, and schooling in exchange for their labour.[7]
The Sapa Inca governed by means of personal relations with the rulers of the local states,[8] adopting the ethnological concept of "reciprocity" or "exchange".[9]
Reciprocity
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The basis of the Andean socio-political organisation was the ayllu, a group of families united by real or mythical kin ties, and separated into a male and a female line. The ruler of an ayllu was the kuraka, or chief, called kamachikuq, and was part of the class of common people ("Hatunruna").
Each ayllu owned a marka, or village. The vertical archipelago, adopted by the Lupaqa chiefdom, was occasionally used by the Inca Emperors. Depending on its geographical position, each ayllu was specialized in exploiting certain eco-regions. Agricultural ayllus were situated near fertile land and grew crops that were suited to the soil type. Their production would be taken by the state apparatus, who would then transfer it to other regions of the country where the resource was unavailable. Excess was kept in storage houses near urban centers, along roads and highways.[10] Other ayllus would specialize in pottery, clothes, or jewelry production; skills were passed on from generation to generation within the same ayllu.[11]
Socio-political structures
The socio-territorial structures were scaffoldings of chiefdoms, organized pyramidally and segmentarilly, according to interpersonal relations (individualized and institutionalized) and possession of land (owned collectively).[1]
Ayllus were federated into chiefdoms (also called curacazgos or huarangas), governed by kurakas called Apu kurakas, and small chiefdoms were organized into larger chiefdoms, governed by apu kurakas called Hatun kurakas.[12][13] The grand chiefdoms, adopting redistributive systems of reciprocal exchange, exchanging liberalities, often in the form of feasts, for workforce, allegiances, and a significant reduction of sovereignty, with the local rulers, represented the highest level of integration reached in the pre-Hispanic Andes, while the Inca Empire did not introduce an imperial-wide integration, instead governing on the basis of local hierarchies.[14][1][12][13] Inca expansion, possibly initiated by the acquisition of the Chankawar booty following the Chanka–Inca War, which gave an initial advantage to the inca chiefdom, added a new sphere to the redistributive system established in the Andes, exchanging the newly acquired goods for the workforce, and the allegiance, of the neighboring rulers, and therefore multiplying reciprocal relations and slowly dominating the local socio-economic system.[2][1][15]
Land possession in the Inca Empire
The land of an ayllu was owned collectively. As the ayllu's delegate, the kuraka redistributed the property among families. The land's measurements were calculated in tupus, a local measuring unit, and differed depending on the agricultural condition of the region.[16]
A married pair would get one and a half tupus, with one tupu for each male child and half a tupu for each female child. When the children started their own family, the additional tupu was transferred to the family of the son or daughter. The property was used by the families of the ayllu, but they did not own it. The farm was used to supply the family with subsistence food.[16]
Collective labor tribute
Under the Inca Empire, officials routinely conducted a census of the male population in order to determine if labor conscription was necessary. Individuals, including adolescents, were obligated to work in different labor capacities on a revolving basis, whether it was livestock, building, or at home. Inca officials received two-thirds of a farmer's crops (over 20 varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potatoes).[17]
This system of work was organized within the framework of institutionalized reciprocity, the Inca emperor was united by personal relations to the regional rulers.[8] The Inca emperor regularly provided the local rulers with goods, and those partially redistributed those goods to the local people, providing them with housing, food, and clothing. In return, the commoners found themselves obligated towards their lords, and the lords towards the Inca emperor.[8] The free allocation of ceremonial beer was one of the special incentives. For this institutionalized generosity, Inca bureaucracy used a specific open space in the city's center as a social gathering place for local lords to celebrate and drink ritual beer.[18][19] With the creation of the Inca Empire, exchanging goods for human energy became a fundamental aspect of unified Inca rule.[1]
Collective reciprocal labor may be structured in three ways: The first was the ayni, which served to assist members and families of the society in need; the second was the minka, or collective effort for the good of the whole community, and included the construction of public works; the mita, or tribute charged to the Inca, was the third, and served as a state-wide minka rotational and temporary service, constructing important public structures, and being principally used by inca bureaucracy. This structure was a give-and-take system, based on the reciprocal exchange of "gifts" in an institutionalized exchange.[20] This scheme required the Inca Empire to be in possession of the goods necessary for sociopolitical and economic domination, and redistribution based on need and local interests.[21]
Despite the lack of a written language, the Incas invented a system of record-keeping simple and stereotyped information based on knotted string known as quipu.[15] To describe the decimal system, these knot structures used complex knot arrangements and color-coded parts. These cords were used to keep track of their stored goods, available workforce, valuable things such as maize, which was used to craft ceremonial beer,[18] and potentially historical information based on stereotyped "messages" related to oral "narrations".[15] The quipu controlled every economic part of the large empire. Those in charge of keeping the documentation via the quipu were called quipucamayocs.[22] There are 1,500 strings on the largest quipu. The Sacred City of Caral-Supe has the oldest quipu, which dates from about 2500 BC.[23]
Currency in Incan Economy
Money was not used by the Incas.[24] Rather, a person's labor was "rewarded with the guarantee of future mutual assistance and social standing",[24] which represented giving labor prestations rather than "taxes".[1]
Trading system in Inca Empire
Land could be controlled by each seemingly large family. To plow, sow seeds, and later harvest the crops, individuals required additional labor prestations from the family members. A similar method known as "minka" was used for larger-scale cooperative work, such as the construction of houses or other infrastructure. Participants were compensated in kind. This system is still in use in some Quechua cultures of the Andes. The philosophical, metaphysical principle that underpinned the concepts of "ayllus" and "minka" was known as "ayni", an ancient Andean idea of mutualism and reciprocity.[4] Because all and everyone in the society was seen as interconnected, each member voluntarily participated in their labor and production. Expecting to be offered something in return later. In a world without monetary currencies, the idea of "ayni" may be applied to all mutual transfers of energy and commodities between people and nature. In addition, the central Inca government instituted supply management and a taxation structure. As a levy, each resident was forced to give the Inca rulers a time of labor and a portion of their cultivated crops. As a result, surplus crops were taken by the government and distributed to villages in desperate need of food.[25] These local systems of mutual aid and solidarity created various obligations and rights, and were originally created in order to adapt to the harsh environment of the Andes mountains.[1]
In the absence of currency, foreign trade was rare and exceptional. The "mindalae" on the Ecuadorian coast were merchant corporations in charge of trade. Another exception was the chiefdom of Chincha on the central Peruvian coast, where a social class of merchants had developed. Long-distance trade happened punctually with Polynesia and western Mexico.[19] In addition, there was a trading fair in Cusco, called catu, which happened annually.[26]
Infrastructure system of the Inca Empire
Inca road system
Inca administration constructed and renovated very complex ancient networks of roads and bridges, known as Qhapaq Ñan, in order to improve the ability of the Inca to exert imperial authority. Inca engineers improved upon earlier cultures' highways, such as those built by the Chimu, Wari, and Tiwanaku, among others.[6] Since 1994, UNESCO World Heritage Sites have preserved these roads and the Inca and pre-Inca structures next to them. There were two major roads that ran from north to south, one along the coast and the other along the Andes, with smaller networks of roads linking the two. The royal road on the Andes began in Quito, Ecuador, and ended near Tucuman, Argentina, after passing through Cajamarca and Cusco. The Andean Royal Road was more than 3,500 miles long, far exceeding the length of the longest Roman path.[6]
As the Incas had no horses nor wheel technology for much of their history, the majority of traveling was by foot, with llamas transporting merchandise from one section of the empire to the other. Messengers or chasquis used roads to transport messages throughout the empire. The Incas devised strategies for navigating the Andes' rugged terrain: They designed stone steps that looked like massive flights of stairs on steep slopes, and low walls were constructed in desert regions to prevent sand from drifting across the lane.[27]
Bridge building
An example of Inca Bridge
Bridges were constructed all over the Inca empire, connecting roads that crossed rivers and deep canyons in one of the world's most challenging terrains. The Inca empire's structure and economy necessitated the construction of these bridges. Natural fibers were used by the Incas to build impressive suspension bridges or rope bridges.[28] These fibers were tied together to form a rope that was as long as the bridge's desired length. They braided three of these ropes together to make a stronger, longer rope; they would keep braiding the ropes until they met the required distance, weight, and power. The cables were then bound together with tree branches, and timber was applied to the floor to create a cable floor that was at least four to five feet high. The completed cable floor was then connected to abutments on either side that supported the ends. Ropes that acted as handrails were often fixed on all sides of the bridge. Near Cusco, in the town of Huarochiri, is the only remaining Inca suspension bridge.[29]
Since the Inca Empire ruled over such a large area, they wanted a way to interact with everybody in it. They developed a network of messengers to deliver critical messages. The Chasquis, or messengers, were selected from among the best and fittest male youths. They relayed signals over long distances every day. They stayed in communities of four or six in cabins or tambos along the roads. When one chasqui was seen, another will dash to reach him. He'd sprint alongside the arriving courier, attempting to listen and memorize the message while still relaying the quipu if he had one. The exhausted chasqui would retire to the cabin for rest, while the other would sprint to the next relay stop.[30] Messages could fly over 250 miles a day in this manner. An immediate alert was transmitted via a chain of bonfires in the event of an attack or revolt. When the chasquis saw the smoke, they ignited a bonfire that could be seen from the next cabin or tambo. Before the source of the fire was understood, the Sapa Inca would send his army into the bonfire, where he would normally find a messenger and hear the essence of the emergency from him. Some tambos, or relay sites, were more elaborate than others, according to archeological finds. They were most often used as a rest stop for officials or the Sapa Inca as they traveled through the empire.[19]
Related Research Articles
The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilization rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century. The Spanish began the conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 and by 1572, the last Inca state was fully conquered.
Quipu are recording devices fashioned from strings historically used by a number of cultures in the central Andes Mountains of South America.
Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, also called Pachacútec, was the ninth Sapa Inca of the Chiefdom of Cusco, which he transformed into the Inca Empire. Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Pachacuti.
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. It was about 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi) long. The construction of the roads required a large expenditure of time and effort.
The Sapa Inca was the monarch of the Inca Empire, as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cuzco and the later Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and originate from the legendary foundation of the city of Cuzco, it seems to have come into being historically around 1100 AD. Although the Inca believed the sapa Inca to be the son of Inti and often referred to him as Inti churi "solar son" or Intip churin "son of the Sun", the position eventually became hereditary, with son succeeding father. The principal wife of the Inca was known as the coya or quya. The Sapa Inca was at the top of the social hierarchy, and played a dominant role in the political and spiritual realm.
Mit'a was mandatory service in the society of the Inca Empire. Its close relative, the regionally mandatory Minka is still in use in Quechua communities today and known as faena in Spanish.
A chasqui was a messenger of the Inca empire. Agile, highly trained and physically fit, they were in charge of carrying messages in the form of quipus, oral information, or small packets. Along the Inca road system there were relay stations called chaskiwasi, placed at about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from each other, where the chasqui switched, exchanging their message(s) with the fresh messenger. The chasqui system could be able to deliver a message or a gift along a distance of up to 300 kilometres (190 mi) per day.
A panaca or panaqa, or panaka was a family clan of the Sapa Inca, the kuraka or emperor of the Inca Empire. The panacas were formed by the descendants of a Sapa Inca or his wife. The basic social institution of the Incas is the ayllu. An ayllu is a group of families that descended from a common ancestor, united by culture and religion, in addition to the agricultural work, livestock and fishing of the same territory. The ayllu concept transcended into nobility, so that the royal kinship could establish a lineage, called panaca or royal house.
The Incas were most notable for establishing the Inca Empire which was centered in modern-day South America in Peru and Chile. It was about 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from the northern to southern tip. The Inca Empire lasted from 1438 to 1533. It was the largest Empire in America throughout the Pre-Columbian era. The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cuzco before 1438. Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate the territory of modern-day Peru, followed by a large portion of western South America, into their empire, centered on the Andean mountain range. However, shortly after the Inca Civil War, the last Sapa Inca (emperor) of the Inca Empire was captured and killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The remnants of the empire retreated to the remote jungles of Vilcabamba and established the small Neo-Inca State, which was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
The Inca society was the society of the Inca civilization in Peru. The Inca Empire, which lasted from 1438 to 1533 A.D., represented the height of this civilization. The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cusco before 1438. Over the course of the empire, the rulers used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andes mountain ranges. The empire proved relatively short-lived however: by 1533, Atahualpa, the last Sapa Inca (emperor) of the Inca Empire, was killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The last Inca stronghold, the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
A tambo was an Inca structure built for administrative and military purposes. Found along the extensive roads, tambos typically contained supplies, served as lodging for itinerant state personnel, and were depositories of quipu-based accounting records. Individuals from nearby communities within the Inca empire were conscripted to maintain and serve in the tambos, as part of the mit'a labor system. Tambos were spaced along Inca roads, generally about one day's travel apart.
A kuraka, or curaca, was an official of the Andean civilizations, unified by the Inca Empire in 1438, who held the role of magistrate, on several hierarchical levels, from the Sapa Inca at the head of the Empire to local family units.
The Inca army was the multi-ethnic armed forces used by the Tawantin Suyu to expand its empire and defend the sovereignty of the Sapa Inca in its territory.
Aclla, also called Chosen Women, Virgins of the Sun, and Wives of the Inca, were sequestered women in the Inca Empire. They were virgins, chosen at about age 10. They performed several services. They were given in marriage to men who had distinguished themselves in service to the empire; they produced luxury items, weaving fine cloth, preparing ritual food, and brewing the chicha (beer) drunk at religious festivals; and some, the most "perfect," were selected as human sacrifices for religious rites. Others lived out their lives in a monastic environment.
The Kingdom of Cusco, also called the Cusco confederation, was a small kingdom based in the Andean city of Cusco that began as a small city-state founded by the Incas around the start of 13th century. In time, through warfare or peaceful assimilation, it began to grow into the Inca Empire (1438–1533).
Inca agriculture was the culmination of thousands of years of farming and herding in the high-elevation Andes mountains of South America, the coastal deserts, and the rainforests of the Amazon basin. These three radically different environments were all part of the Inca Empire and required different technologies for agriculture. Inca agriculture was also characterized by the variety of crops grown, the lack of a market system and money, and the unique mechanisms by which the Incas organized their society. Andean civilization was "pristine"—one of six civilizations worldwide which were indigenous and not derivative from other civilizations. Most Andean crops and domestic animals were likewise pristine—not known to other civilizations. Potatoes and quinoa were among the many unique crops; Camelids and guinea pigs were the unique domesticated animals.
The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000 km from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and northwest Argentina. Archaeologists believe that Andean civilizations first developed on the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific Ocean. The Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, dating back to 3500 BCE. Andean civilizations are one of at least five civilizations in the world deemed by scholars to be "pristine." The concept of a "pristine" civilization refers to a civilization that has developed independently of external influences and is not a derivative of other civilizations.
The Tawantinsuyu or Inca Empire was a centralized bureaucracy. It drew upon the administrative forms and practices of previous Andean civilizations such as the Wari Empire and Tiwanaku, and had in common certain practices with its contemporary rivals, notably the Chimor. These institutions and practices were understood, articulated, and elaborated through Andean cosmology and thought. Following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, certain aspects of these institutions and practices were continued.
The vertical archipelago is a term coined by sociologist and anthropologist John Victor Murra under the influence of economist Karl Polanyi to describe the native Andean agricultural economic model of accessing and distributing resources. While some cultures developed market economies, the predominant models were systems of barter and shared labor. These reached their greatest development under the Inca Empire. Scholars have identified four distinct ecozones, at different elevations.
The mathematics of the Incas was the set of numerical and geometric knowledge and instruments developed and used in the nation of the Incas before the arrival of the Spaniards. It can be mainly characterized by its usefulness in the economic field. The quipus and yupanas are proof of the importance of arithmetic in Inca state administration. This was embodied in a simple but effective arithmetic, for accounting purposes, based on the decimal numeral system; they too had a concept of zero, and mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The mathematics of the Incas had an eminently applicative character to tasks of management, statistics, and measurement that was far from the Euclidean outline of mathematics as a deductive corpus, since it was suitable and useful for the needs of a centralized administration.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Henri, Favre (2020). Les Incas[The Incas] (in French) (10thed.). Paris: PUF. pp.32–83.
1 2 Del Pilar Remy Simatovic, María (2011). Los curacas de Cajamarca y el sistema colonial (Siglo XVI, inicios del XVII)[The curacas of Cajamarca and the colonial system (16th century, dawn of 17th century)] (in Spanish). Lima: PUCP.
↑ Garrcia, Franck (2019). Les Incas[The Incas] (in French) (1sted.). Paris: Ellipses.
↑ Turolla, Pino (1980). Beyond the Andes: My Search for the Origins of Pre-Inca Civilization. Harpercollins. ISBN006014369X.
↑ Ochsendorf, John (1996). An engineering study of the last Inca Suspension Bridge. Princeton university.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Hourly, History (2020). Inca Empire: A History from Beginning to End.
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