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Declan R.
Background Information
Background Information
The Inca empire resides on the Andes mountains. The Andes mountains have incredibly harsh and rough terrain, making traversal incredibly difficult. The Andes mountains have many high and lowlands which create large chasms and raging rivers. If the Inca people wanted to traverse it, they'd be out of luck. The Andes mountain area was simply too severe for anyone to travel it. That is, it would have been if it weren't for the suspension bridge.
A suspension bridge being built
How they were made
How they were made
Inca suspension bridges had 2 main variants, one were the bridge hung below cables, and one were the road was laid across cables. The process began with creating the cables. the cables were made of dried plant matter woven together. In some cases, leather would be woven into the cables to increase the strength and sturdiness of the bridge. Next, the cables would be strung across the large river or gap the Incas wanted to cross. Finally, 2 master bridge builders would work their way from the outside-in, tying wooden boards to the cables as they went to act as the road for people crossing. This whole process was not easy and required days of back breaking labor to create any sized suspension bridge. However, the payoff of being able to traverse the andes mountains with ease was more than enough to justify their use in the Inca empire.
Additional Information
A old lady selling textiles in a market
Connection and Trade
Connection and Trade
Suspension Bridges allowed for the connection of independent villages, facilitating trade among said villages. This can be seen with the Q’eswachaka, where 4 villages depended on it to communicate and trade between themselves. This shows how important suspension bridges were to the Inca.
A map of the Inca empire at its peak
Expansion of the Inca
Expansion of the Inca
The Andes mountains have many chasms and rivers which makes traversal in the Inca empire nearly impossible. The suspension bridge allowed the Inca empire to cross these said chasms, allowing them to traverse to places they never had have before.
A image of the golden gate bridge
Modern Suspension Bridges
Modern Suspension Bridges
Inca suspension bridges paved the way for future suspension bridges. They are pivotal piece of our modern day transportation system. without them traversal in California would be way more difficult. If the Incas had not invented the suspension bridge, life would way more difficult for thousands of people.
The Q'eswachaka bridge
Q’eswachaka Bridge
Q’eswachaka Bridge
Q'eswachaka Brigde is one of the most famous and few remaining Inca suspension bridges. A longstanding tradition of rebuilding the suspension bridge every year still continues to this day.
The Tinkuqchaka Bridge
Tinkuqchaka Bridge
Tinkuqchaka Bridge
A less well known but still impressive Inca suspension bridge, The Tinkuqchaka. This bridge crosses the pampas river. Similar to the Q'eswachaka bridge, the Tinkuqchaka bridge is also re- built annually.
Helpful Links
The logo for the Inca Trail website
This website has lots of information about the Inca empire and many of their achievements
3 tourists in the Andes mountains
If you want Information on best spots for tourism, this website provides some great spots like Q'eswachaka
The BBC news station logo
This article provides lots of valuable knowledge on how and where many unique Incan suspension bridges, such as the Arizpana bridge, are made and maintained
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