Inca Empire (Peru)
(1438 to 1533)
What happened?
The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center was in Cuzco. Sometime in the early 13th century civilization emerged from the Peruvian highlands. In 1572, the last Inca stronghold was conquered by the Spaniards.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used various methods from conquest to peaceful assimilation to develop a state. The Inca Empire was like historical empires of the Old World. Much of western South America was centered on the Andes Mountain ranges. Peru, southwest Ecuador, western and southern Bolivia, northwest Argentina, northern Chile, and a part of southwest Colombia fell under the empire.
Quechua was the official language. The Incas had no wheel, draft animals, knowledge of iron or steel, or even a writing system. Characteristic were the monumental architecture with masonry, extensive road network, finely woven textiles, they kept records with knotted strings (= quipu), and agricultural innovations in difficult areas. The empire functioned largely without money or markets. Exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals. Labor obligation to the state served as a tax.
Couple Ritual Figurines
± 1500 to ± 1600
The Incas learned much from their conquered subjects from the kingdom of Chimor. Chimu metalsmiths were brought to Cuzco to create the Coricancha, the Sun Temple. Precious metals played an important role for the Incas. Gold was associated with the sun and silver with the moon. The noble Incas dressed in jewelry made of precious metals and used cups and other gold and silver objects at their feasts. Special objects for religious rituals were used from the same sacred materials.
Male and female figurines were given the same techniques. The face was treated with more care than the body and lower extremities. The most common are small gold and silver figures of naked women and men. These were grave offerings. They seem to represent the young women and men who would accompany the dead during the ritual of capacocha, meaning royal sin or obligation. The hands on the chest are a gesture of reverence. Figures like these are usually cast. The hands are usually folded across the chest, or they are holding an object, such as a corn cob or fan. Some dressed figures with textiles and feathers have been found. More common are pairs of small figures, which may mean day and night. They are metallic beings who stand by the dead eternally.
The Incas believed that every entity requires two complementary opposites. They applied this in their social life. Above and below, good and evil, man and woman. The capital Cuzco also consists of two parts, Hanancuzco and Hurincuzco, the upper and lower city. The population also consists of two parts. In low-lying Cuzco live family communities of former Inca monarchs. The closest relatives of the rulers live in the higher part. The dualistic principle in thinking is also apparent in their utensils, pottery, textiles, and architecture.