Inca Culture

We explain what the Inca culture was, its social and political organization, its religion, economy, location and other characteristics.

What was the Inca culture?

Inca culture, Inca civilization or Inca culture (sometimes also written inka) was one of the largest pre-Columbian cultures in America. This civilization ruled a powerful empire in South America, centered in the central Andes, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1532.

The Inca Empire was the largest political organization in pre-Columbian America and existed between the 15th and 16th centuries. It extended from the South American Pacific coast to the Andean peaks, and from the current territories of Peru, Ecuador and part of Colombia (in the north) to parts of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (in the south).

Its capital was the sacred city of Cusco, in present-day Peruvian territory. From there, the Incas dominated the Andean region until their fall to the Spanish in 1533, who, led by Francisco Pizarro, attempted to put an end to the Inca way of life and founded the Viceroyalty of Peru. There were pockets of Inca resistance (the so-called Incas of Vilcabamba) until 1572.

The Incas emerged as an ethnic group in the Cusco area, possibly in the 13th century, and began their expansion in the 15th century. Their main language was Quechua. Much of its culture survives today in regions that were once part of the empire. Stories and artifacts that lasted during the colonial era and architectural remains such as the town of Machu Picchu are also preserved.

Origin of the Inca culture

Inca culture It possibly emerged in the 13th century AD. c with the settlement of a group of families in the Cusco valley. Some interpretations had suggested that this group came from Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku, a culture in the south whose collapse was thought to have motivated migrations to the north, but this idea is currently questioned. In any case, it is generally accepted that the political organization of the Incas was influenced by previous cultures such as Tiwanaku and Wari, which were state societies.

Over the years, the first settlements forcibly subdued the pre-Inca groups of the region and incorporated them into what the Incas called the Tawantinsuyu (in Quechua “the four parts”), that is, his empire. So, They developed a powerful pre-Hispanic city that housed several thousand inhabitants and they extended their domain to almost a million square kilometers in the 15th and 16th centuries.

According to Inca tradition, The warrior Manco Cápac was the organizer and first ruler of the Incas in Cusco, protagonist of one of the main Inca founding myths. In this myth he is described with his wife Mama Ocllo, both born from the union in Lake Titicaca between the goddess Mama Quilla, the Moon, and the god Inti, the Sun.

Location of the Inca culture

The Inca civilization developed in the central-west of South America. At its greatest expansion, the Inca Empire controlled the territories of Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, part of southern Colombia, northwest Argentina and northern Chile, especially in the coastal region and the Andean foothills.

The incas They took advantage of the enormous ecological variety of the Andean region with its coasts, valleys, mountains, plateaus and jungles, which offered different resources. Furthermore, they knew how to master the cold and dry living conditions of some of these areas.

Characteristics of the Inca culture

The Incas were the last great pre-Columbian civilization in America. In addition to its own cultural characteristics, knew how to collect and integrate the technical, artistic and technological knowledge of their predecessors and enhance them.

Their language, Quechua (kechwa either Kichwa), still persists in some regions that were formerly part of the empire. Quechua was the official or vehicular language of the Inca Empire, but other languages ​​were also spoken, such as Aymara, Mochica and Puquina, which shows that the cultures subject to the Incas could preserve their languages ​​and could also exercise some degree of control. influence on the Inca civilization.

In their heyday, the Incas They built important architectural works, of which ruins still remain, such as the famous Machu Picchu among other vestiges of its main cities, such as Písac and Ollantaytambo, or the ceremonial fortress of Sacsayhuamán, two kilometers from Cusco.

Sculpture, music, literature (transmitted orally) and painting were arts highly cultivated by the Incas, along with textiles, goldsmithing and ceramic production, for practical, aesthetic and ceremonial purposes. Also Its mummification ritual stood out, especially to preserve the bodies of deceased kings and nobles which were exhibited during ritual ceremonies to receive the veneration of their people.

Social organization of the Inca culture

Inca society was structured based on ayllua concept that could be translated as lineage community, genealogy, kinship or caste. That is, the existence of a common ancestor, real or mythological, united the members of the ayllu and organized them to undertake work, such as communal agriculture, military activity, among others.

Each ayllu had a curaca or chief, who was generally chosen by the group itself and he led the rest because he was considered the wisest, in addition to serving as an intermediary between the ayllu and the Inca authorities. It also had a sinchiwho was a military leader.

This does not mean that there were no social classes or estates. In fact, the nobility and the people were well differentiated in Inca society, and each one had different hierarchies:

• Nobility. It was made up of the monarch (called Inca) and his family, the descendants of the ancient monarchs, the military leaders, priests or high officials, and the curacas of subject towns who obeyed the empire and represented the local aristocracy before the Incas. The nobility was distinguished between:
  • Royalty or imperial court. Formed by the monarch (Inca), his wife (Coya) and the legitimate princes (auquis).
  • The nobility of blood. They were descendants of the deceased Inca monarchs, who made up kinship groups called panacas and they used to serve as high-ranking officials, governors, high priests and military leaders.
  • Nobility by privilege. They were people born outside of blood nobility but who had acquired hierarchical positions due to their outstanding performance in war, the priesthood or other important activities.
  • The local nobility. They were the curacas of the communities dominated by the Incas, who intermediated between the ayllu local and the authorities of Cusco.
• Town. It was made up of the common inhabitants of the Inca Empire, dedicated to work such as agriculture, fishing, crafts or commerce. Depending on their job or condition they could be called:
  • Hatunrunas. They were peasants dedicated to agriculture and livestock.
  • Mitmaqkunas. They were colonizers of new lands by orders of the Inca authorities.
  • Yanas. They were servants placed at the service of the Inca or the nobles.
  • Mamaconas and acllas. They were women dedicated to the production of textiles or in charge of cooking and other tasks in special enclosures. They were recruited in different parts of the empire and could become secondary wives of the Inca or other authorities.
  • Pampayrunas. They were women prisoners of war forced into prostitution.
  • pineapples. They were prisoners of war subjected to the State for agricultural work in slavery conditions.

Political organization of the Inca culture

The Incas had one of the most complex political organizations in all of pre-Columbian America. It was a monarchy headed by the Inca, considered the son of Inti (the Sun) and a sacred being. However, the Inca monarchy responded to a dual organization that led some authors to characterize it as a diarchy, since it had two kings: one from Cusco Alto (Hanan Cusco) and another from Cusco Bajo (Hurin Cusco).

The first, called Sapa Inca or Inca, especially controlled the civil, political, economic and military aspects, and the other, called Willaq Umu, concentrated priestly power. The authority of the Willaq Umu was less than that of the Inca, but he was influential in imperial decisions.

The other political positions, held by the nobility, were organized as follows:

• He Here. He was the crown prince, who exercised co-government with his father as a form of preparation for the position. He was chosen from among all the male children of the Inca and Coya, so that he was appointed by merit and not by primogeniture.
• He Tahuantinsuyo Camachic. It was the Imperial Council, made up of four apus who governed each of the four his or regions of the Inca Empire: Chinchaysuyu, Cuntisuyu, Antisuyu and Collasuyu. They were supported by twelve secondary councilors.
• The Apunchic. They were the governors of the provinces of the empire, with political-military powers, who responded directly to the Imperial Council and the Inca.
• He Tucuirícuc. His name meant “He who sees everything”, and he was an imperial overseer and supervisor, who controlled the officials of each province and was empowered to assume, if necessary, local authority.
• He curaca. He was the head of each ayllu or community, roughly equivalent to a chief. Generally, he was chosen by his own group because he was considered the wisest, although he could be appointed by the Inca authorities. He was the one who intermediated between the ayllu and imperial authority, and was concerned with justice, collecting tribute and maintaining order.

Economy of the Inca culture

The economy of the Inca Empire was fundamentally agricultural. The cultivation of the king's lands and the care of his flocks was assigned to the ayllus in a system of terraces and irrigation that allowed access to resources from various ecological floors.

It is estimated that the Incas cultivated more than eighty plant species such as potatoes (almost 200 varieties), corn (domesticated independently of Mesoamerican), sweet potato (also called sweet potato), quinoa, ruba, tomato, peanut, cassava, avocado and beans. They also grew textile plants, such as cotton and maguey, and for recreational or ceremonial use, such as tobacco and coca.

In addition, they developed livestock, which consisted of breeding of Andean camelids such as the alpaca, the llama or the vicuña and fishing, which was carried out in lakes and especially on the Pacific coasts.

The economy of the Incas was controlled by the State, who also took care of public works: roads, bridges, temples, palaces, among others. Work was mandatory and proportional to age. There was also military service, obligatory for all men and the work of courier or chasquiswhich could connect different regions of the extensive empire quickly thanks to a relay system. The Inca administration was based on the quipusa system of knotted ropes which was used for accounting.

On the other hand, barter was a fundamental activity l, both within the empire and with neighboring communities, and their exchange routes extended beyond the imperial borders. It is thought that Inca commercial navigation would have reached lands as far away as present-day Panama and Costa Rica.

Inca culture religion

Like other pre-Columbian peoples, the Incas were deeply religious and their rituals were part of everyday life and their festivities. In his religious cult had a prominent place Wiracocha, a creator god which was also worshiped by other Andean populations.

The Incas were polytheists. They had a pantheon of local, regional and imperial divinities to whom natural phenomena, such as the Sun (Inti), the Moon (Mama Quilla) or lightning (Chuquiylla). Other deities represented ideas such as fertility (mother earth or Pachamama) or the provocation of earthquakes and fertility (Pachacamac).

His understanding of the divine revolved around the concept of camaquena kind of vital force that animated everything that existed, present even in the dead, mountains and sacred beings.

Furthermore, the Incas had places of worship known as huacasin charge of the priests, who fulfilled oracular functions and organized offerings, celebrations and sacrifices. The sacrifices generally involved animals, coca leaves and sometimes humans, such as the ceremony called capacocha.

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References

• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Inca. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Cartwright, M. (2014). Inca civilization. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/
• D'Altroy, T.N. (2003). The Incas. Ariel.
• Pease, F. (2007). The incas. Editorial Fund.
• Wikipedia (sf). Inca civilization. Wikipedia. https://es.wikipedia.org/