Inca society
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.
[citation needed] Once a woman was married, she was expected to collect food and cook, watch over the animals and the children and supply cloth to the government.
The simple abstract geometric forms and highly stylized animal representation in ceramics, wood carvings, textiles and metalwork were all part of the Inca culture.
For fishing, trade, construction, transport and military purposes, the Inca built seagoing vessels called balsas by weaving together totora reeds.
[13] Fine quality colorful cloth was also used as sacrificial offerings, often provided by the royal lineage to be burned in honor of their deities.
[13] More complex expressions of the grid, called t’oqapu, were made of abstract geometric motifs and were worn by bureaucrats, nobles, and royalty.
In addition, the Inca played drums and on woodwind instruments including flutes, pan-pipes and trumpets made of shell and ceramics.
[19] Other cultures’ metalworkers were similarly relocated to Cuzco or other isolated communities to produce objects for the state, or assigned as servants to Inca lords.
In the latter case, populations in mineral-rich areas with strong metallurgical traditions would have been responsible for mining ores and extracting metals as a form of labor tribute.
Thus gold and silver were closely associated with the origin of the ruling clan, and their value as visible indexes of wealth and spiritual power were second only to cloth.
However, metals did not play a significant part in Andean warfare, and although gold, silver, and bronze were extensively used throughout the Inca empire, iron metallurgy was never developed.
In fact, most Spanish soldiers adopted quilted armor from the Inca as they regarded it superior to European steel breastplates in the humid sierra.
[21] Inca government is generally seen as an omnipotent emperor that ruled over a bureaucracy made up of local elites who had been recruited to serve in the state.
Territorial administration consisted of a complete take over of provinces by reorganizing the economy through increased agricultural production and control of exchange routes via the Incan road system.
The reason behind this strategy was to gain land and flow of surplus goods back to the empire core without spending a great deal of effort to overtake and govern.
[23] Duality manifested in the Inca society’s organization, with reciprocal relationships between rulers and subjects forming the bedrock of political legitimacy.
These concepts influenced Inca rituals, such as offerings to deities and ceremonies honoring ancestors, emphasizing the importance of maintaining harmony and equilibrium in all aspects of life.
Ritual ceremonies functioned as mechanisms for cultural continuity and identity formation, binding together diverse communities under a shared religious framework.
These sacrifices were taken out onto mountains throughout the Andes and placed alive into burial tombs where they were left with items such as:figurines, coca leaves, food, alcoholic beverages and pottery.
The Inca emphasized various natural elements of the surroundings, such as the stream running down the channel, the outcrops of rock, and the highest point of the mountain at Cahuana.
[33] The attire of priests and participants was richly adorned with intricate designs and vibrant colors, serving both practical and symbolic purposes.
[34] Before significant ceremonies, fasting was customary, with priests required to refrain from consuming salt, pepper, meat, fish, spicy foods, and engaging in any form of sexual activity.
[36] Andean mummy bundles were meticulously arranged, taking into account not just the positioning of the body but also the material artifacts accompanying the ancestor in death.
[40] The Inca cultivated food crops on dry Pacific coastlines, high on the slopes of the Andes and in the lowland Amazon rainforest.
[citation needed] The Inca developed qollqas, a building made of adobe, field stone, clay mortar, plaster and pirca used for food storage.
[42] These granaries stored: corn, quinoa, tomatoes, potatoes, chicha (maize beer), fruit, salt, fish, tubers and grain.
[42] The Inca also raised llamas and alpacas for their wool, meat and to use them as pack animals and captured wild vicuñas for their fine hair.
The Inca diet consisted primarily of fish and vegetables, supplemented less frequently with the meat of cuyes (guinea pigs) and camelids.
It was also used to expand the empire by mobilizing military campaigns, but also by civilians to transport goods, either by foot or with the help of domesticated herds of llamas and alpacas.
The Inca had their own wastewater treatment systems and it is documented that they would collect the human waste to perform land application to help ensure successful harvest seasons.
