Inca Roads
Quapaq Nan
Curated by Lorenzo
Quapaq Nan
Curated by Lorenzo
The Inca Road systems revolutionized the way we transport everything today. These innovative inventions impact our world today more than almost anything, especially since the way our society works is based on safe and efficient transport of materials, resources, utilities, news, and so much more.
First developed in the 14-1500s, the Quapaq Nan was created through a complex yet herculean assortment of stone and other natural materials. It was built to be steady and survive conditions like weather or natural disasters. This was very impactful to the Incas at the time, who were in need of a way to control their territory and transport goods for trade. This also helped them with trasporting weapons and troops. This paired with the fast spreading of important information helped them maximize control on all threats or dangers.
The ramifications of Quapaq Nan were both good and bad for other civilizations. The civilizations that traded with the Incas were given much easier ways to do so with the safe and organized system of the roads. But civilizations who were against or resented the Incas were now at a disadvantage not only in terms of competing with the Incas military, but also the fact that now the Incas were moving up and evolving faster than ever.
As mentioned earlier, these roads still impact our world today and most advanced civilizations since then. Highways, interstates, etc. serve the same purpose. We now transport information quicker than ever and transporting valuables and other important materials has also never been easier. As humans, we will always take away what worked for other civilizations. what propelled them to the top. But we will also take into account what failed, and what led to their downfall. An example of this is when the Spanish used these Inca Roads to infiltrate and overtake their empire, ending it for good. On top of this, road maintenance complicated things at the time. This is still a relevant factor today, as we've had to figure out how to manage the maintenance of our roads while also keeping them efficient and regulating the systems that keep our society afloat today