Andean Inca 1
Summary
TLDRThe Inca Empire, known for its monumental architecture and engineering prowess, ruled across various regions with a centralized authority. They were masters of stone carving, constructing 20,000 miles of roads and impressive structures at high altitudes. The Inca's societal structure was based on reciprocity, with a taxation system that included tributes in the form of textiles and labor. They also practiced standardization in stonework and textiles. The empire's communication relied on a unique system of knotted strings, known as 'khipu,' which recorded information using a decimal system. The Inca's origin story is tied to the sun god Inti, and their architecture, including the iconic Machu Picchu, reflects their connection to the natural environment and their belief in the axis mundi, or center of the world.
Takeaways
- đ The Inca Empire was a vast empire that spanned across different regions including the north, central, and south coasts, with its rule being complete from north to south.
- đ The term 'empire' refers to a large area under the control of a central ruler with strong generals and governors, similar to the Roman and British empires.
- đșïž The Inca Empire was the largest territory in the world by 1500 CE, with its origins dating back to 4500 BCE, and significant developments starting in the 14th century.
- đ ïž The Incas were master engineers and stone carvers, known for their monumental architecture and 20,000 miles of hand-built roads at high altitudes.
- đïž The Inca's architecture was not only functional but also served to assert their power and communicate with the gods, reflecting a strong state control.
- đŒ The Inca Empire was characterized by a system of taxation that included tributes in the form of textiles, agriculture, and labor.
- đą The Incas practiced standardization in stone cutting and weaving, ensuring uniformity in their constructions and textiles.
- đ The concept of reciprocity was central to Inca society, where the state would provide for its people in exchange for their labor, exemplified by the construction of Machu Picchu.
- đ The Incas had a tool for recording information called a 'khipu,' a knotted string document used for accounting and possibly more complex record-keeping.
- 𧟠A significant breakthrough in understanding khipus was achieved by a Harvard student, Manny Medrano, who discovered that the colors and knot placements could be linked to census data.
- đ° The Inca's monumental stone architecture, like the structures at Machu Picchu, was designed to mimic the natural landscape, reflecting the Andean worldview.
Q & A
What is the significance of the spelling 'Inca' with both 'c' and 'k'?
-Both spellings 'Inca' and 'Inka' are considered correct, reflecting variations in transliteration from the Quechua language.
How did the Inca Empire expand its rule across different regions?
-The Inca Empire expanded by conquering various indigenous groups and establishing a centralized rule with strong generals and governors, similar to other historical empires like the Roman and British Empires.
What is the definition of an empire as mentioned in the script?
-An empire is defined as a large, ever-growing area that has one central ruler with strong generals and governors who obey the emperor's commands, even from a great distance.
How did the Inca Empire's size compare to other territories in the world around 1500 CE?
-The Inca Empire was the largest territory in the world at 1500 CE, controlling a vast area with a population of around 10 million people.
What is unique about the Inca's engineering and architecture achievements?
-The Incas were masters of engineering and stone carving, constructing 20,000 miles of hand-built roads at high altitudes and creating monumental architecture that was both a message to potential opponents and to the gods they worshipped.
What was the Inca Empire known for in terms of taxation and how was it collected?
-The Inca Empire was known for its taxation system where everyone, regardless of age or health, was taxed. The taxes were usually in the form of tribute, such as textiles, agricultural products, or labor on buildings.
What is the concept of 'reciprocity' as it relates to the Inca Empire?
-Reciprocity in the Inca Empire refers to the mutual exchange of goods and services, such as the state providing food in exchange for labor on projects like building Machu Picchu.
How did the Inca record information before the Spanish arrival?
-The Inca used a tool for recording information known as a 'khipu' or 'quipu', which was a knotted string document based on a decimal system and used for accounting and recording data.
What is the significance of the 'axis mundi' in Inca culture?
-The 'axis mundi' in Inca culture refers to the center of the world, with Cusco being considered the center of the Inca universe. It was a central point from which 41 radial precincts extended, representing different social statuses.
How did the Inca's monumental stone architecture reflect their connection to nature?
-Inca monumental stone architecture, such as the zigzag walls and the Inca throne, was designed to mirror the natural environment, particularly the silhouette of the mountains, symbolizing their deep connection to and reverence for nature.
What was the role of the 'keeper of the khipu' in Inca society?
-The keeper of the khipu was a highly regarded individual in the Inca community, responsible for maintaining and interpreting the knotted string documents, which were an essential part of their record-keeping and oral tradition.
Outlines
đ Inca Empire Overview
The paragraph introduces the Inca civilization, emphasizing their status as an empire with extensive control across various regions including the north, central, and south coasts. It discusses the correct spelling of 'Inca' and the timeline of their rule. The Inca Empire is characterized by a centralized power with strong governance, comparable to other historical empires like the Roman and British. The narrative also touches on the Inca's engineering prowess, particularly in road construction and stone carving, and their practice of taxation and standardization. The concept of reciprocity is introduced, highlighting how the Inca society functioned and the importance of state control. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the Inca's prehistoric nature and their unique method of information recording through a 'kings list,' which blends myth with historical figures.
đ Inca Expansion and Kipu
This section delves into the expansion of the Inca Empire, with a focus on the heart of the empire in Cusco. The Inca origin story, which involves the sun god Inti and the golden spear, is highlighted. The paragraph contrasts the Inca's knowledge with other Andean groups, attributing the reason for more extensive knowledge to their contact with the Spanish, who documented history, and the use of 'quipus' or knotted string documents for record-keeping. The quipus are described as a complex accounting system based on a decimal system, incorporating colors and knot placements to convey information. The role of Inca runners inäŒ éing messages across the extensive road network is mentioned, along with the significance of the quipu keepers in the community. A modern breakthrough in understanding quipus by a Harvard student is also noted, which connected the color and knot patterns to census data.
đ° Monumental Stone Architecture
The focus of this paragraph is on the Inca's monumental stone architecture, particularly their ability to create structures that mimic the natural environment. The Inca's technique of lithification is discussed, exemplified by the replication of mountain silhouettes in their constructions. The paragraph mentions the importance of terracing in Andean culture and how it reflects a manipulation of the landscape to suit human needs. Cusco is identified as the 'axis mundi' or center of the Inca universe, with a map illustrating the radial precincts emanating from the center. The paragraph also describes the Inca throne and zigzag walls, suggesting their ceremonial and ritual significance rather than being spaces for daily living. The alignment of these structures with the natural landscape is emphasized, showcasing the Inca's integration of architecture with nature.
â°ïž Natural Integration and Ritual
This paragraph discusses the Inca's integration of nature into their ceremonial sites, exemplified by the use of sharp steps carved into the hillside for elite rulers to oversee troops and ceremonies. The belief that these sites were also used for sacrifices, weddings, and other rituals is mentioned. The paragraph emphasizes the shadows cast in these spaces, symbolizing the connection between the mountains, nature, and ceremonial practices. The significance of reciprocity in the Inca society is reiterated through the labor-intensive construction of these sites, highlighting the collective effort and the power it symbolized. The paragraph concludes with a visual description of the scale of these structures, with some stones reaching up to 13 feet high, underscoring the grandeur and the Inca's mastery over their environment.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄInca Empire
đĄEmpire
đĄStandardization
đĄReciprocity
đĄTaxation
đĄKipu
đĄMonumental Architecture
đĄLithification
đĄAxis Mundi
đĄTerracing
Highlights
The Inca Empire's rule extended across various regions including the north, central, and south coasts.
The term 'empire' is defined as a large, ever-growing area under one central ruler with strong governance.
The Inca Empire was the largest territory in the world by 1500 CE.
The Inca were known for their engineering and stone carving, with 20,000 miles of hand-built roads.
The Inca's monumental architecture served as a message to both potential opponents and the gods.
The Inca Empire practiced extensive taxation in the form of tribute, including textiles and labor.
Standardization was key in Inca culture, evident in their stone cutting and textile weaving.
The concept of reciprocity was central to Inca society, with examples like feeding workers in exchange for construction labor.
The Inca had a prehistoric culture but used a tool for recording information known as a kipu.
Kipus are knotted string documents based on a decimal system, used for accounting and possibly more.
The Inca origin story involves the Sun God Inti and the foundation of Cusco.
The Inca's monumental stone architecture aimed to replicate the natural environment, particularly the Andes mountains.
Cusco was considered the axis mundi, or center of the Inca universe, with radial precincts extending from it.
The Inca Throne and zigzag walls at Saxa Human are examples of monumental stone architecture.
The Inca's use of lithification showcased their ability to carve giant stone sculptures from living rock.
Contemporary Andean artists like Vicuña incorporate ancient techniques like kipu in their work.
Recent academic breakthroughs, such as by Manny Medrano, have shed light on the meaning of kipu colors and knot placements.
Transcripts
jot down the learning objectives these
are the things you'll be listening for
as we go through our conversation about
the inca
so we're going to revisit our timeline
and take a look at where we find the
inca notice that it is spelled with both
a c
and a k both are considered correct
and you can see here that they are an
empire which is ruling
across the regions so remember we've got
north coast central coast south coast
etc
this pink line tells us that their rule
was complete
north to south north to south
some maps will show you expansions
depending on who
the um the inca leader was at the time
the definition of an empire is a large
ever-growing area that is has one
central ruler with strong generals and
governors who will do what that emperor
says
even if they're at a tremendous distance
so you're familiar with the roman empire
we've got the british empire
and as you know with all empires they
grow and they grow and they grow
until they get too big and then they
shrink or they collapse
and that of course will be the story
with the inca as the spanish
come on the scene
can you imagine a hundred thousand inca
controlling
10 million people so all of these groups
that you see here who
are flourishing at the time right before
the
empire develops they're going to be
people who are taken over
by the empire it's important to remember
that
the indigenous groups are not blameless
in these conversations
about destroying other indigenous groups
of course it is the spanish who signal
that final
death knell for the inca empire
the inca empire was the largest
territory in the world
at 1500 ce
there had been hunter gatherers in the
valley of cusco since 4500 bce
but it wasn't until the 14th century
that things really got started
can you imagine twenty thousand miles of
hand-built roads
created at this tremendous altitude
as you'll come to see the incas are
masters of engineering and stone carving
their monumental architecture sends a
strong message
both to anyone who would oppose them but
also to the gods that they worship
this is a land of tremendous state
control
and these are the ideas that we've been
talking about as we've been discussing
the concept
of reciprocity and how
that impacts freedom
of decision-making and artistic skill
the inca empire was well known for its
taxation
and they taxed everybody whether you
were a child
whether you were ill whether you were
elderly
and usually taxation was formed
it came in the form of tribute so
textiles
agriculture uh working on a building
those were all sort of in
kind uh taxation forms
the inca are well known for
standardization
stone cutting so they're going to have
us you know how if you um
a brick is always the same size this is
the kind of idea that they're going to
have standardization
and you'll see this in stone work as
well as in their
weavings textiles the concept of
reciprocity
we will feed you while you build machu
picchu that kind of a thing
so these principles of verticality
reciprocity dualism are
continuing to abide during the inca
period
the inca are a prehistoric culture
but they do have a tool for recording
information
and this is nothing that you need to
memorize just know that it
exists many cultures have something
called
a kings list
and this is a record of who was
in charge now note here that
this beginning of the list is recorded
as being
mythical so we've got names that are so
early we don't know if they were real
historic people or people who are just
part of the mythology
there are some where we don't know if
they're uh
real or mythological to the point of
where they say unknown
and then we've got uh high imperial
inca rulers where we know for sure that
they were historic individuals people
who really existed
and that dates from 1438 until the fall
uh with the last inca
emperor altihuapa you can
notice then the expansion of the
different inca
centers with the time frames along with
it but beginning
mostly with the heart of the inca empire
in
cusco the
inca origin story is based on the
sun god inti and his
instructions to
mama ocho about sending a golden spear
into the ground
so how do we know what we know well the
reason we know
more about the inca than the other
andean groups is twofold
one of which is because of the fact that
they had contact with the spanish and
the spanish were a historic culture they
wrote stuff down
and the second which is really much more
interesting is this
object that you see here known as a kipu
both spellings are correct this is
a knotted string document
and it is based on
the numeric decimal system of 10
and it is an accounting system but it
also
utilizes colors and the way that the
knots
are located on the string
so these were documents that were rolled
up into a bundle
and they were carried by the inca
runners what are you going to do with
those 20 000 miles of roads
how are you going to get messages from
cusco all the way north or all the way
south
you're going to send it on a key poop
we know about these because they are
many still
extant today there are some that were
found
in mummy bundles uh so perhaps the
the uh those mummies were of the of the
runners
uh perhaps they were people who were
sending messages who kept the mummy
bundles in that way
and because of the environment and
because they're textiles they survive
this is a artist reconstruction
of an image from a text that we're going
to talk about
a lot when we talk about the post
contact inca world
for now we're going to suffice it to say
that this serves as a visualization
of what the keeper would have looked
like how it was used
and there is a concept that
you would first do the math and then you
would make the kiku
and they've got stone evidence of these
little counting
boxes that perhaps were the way that
those messages were saved
the keeper of the kipu was somebody who
was
highly regarded in the community and on
the left is a modern day photograph
of kipo keepers
who were in the ancient world
passing down the information through
these knotted cord systems
so ideas that are passed down from
father to son
this is part of an oral tradition that
is backed
up by having these actual
documents so these have puzzled
academics for years trying to figure out
exactly
what do these say they know it's for
counting
they know it's a dynamic document
that the colors mean something that
whether the knots are printed right or
left means something but
very recently there was a big
breakthrough
and it was done by an undergrad at
harvard
this is manny medrano on the right and
there is his profe on the left
and he decided he he's a math major who
happened to find himself
in a pre-columbian history class and he
was fascinated by
the kipu he has a mexicano so he's not
is a peruvian
but that's okay what he did was he
decided that he was going to take home
this model of akipu over spring break
and try to figure it out
mathematically and what he came to
realize
is that the colors and the ways the
knots are created
means that there is a front and a back
or
a an obverse and a reverse
and then he was able to affiliate that
information
with the census the counting of the
people
in the region at that point in time and
so he came back to school he shared this
with his professor who of course was
going to double check his ideas
then this was a huge breakthrough now
this particular
kipu was from the um
about the the 1600s so it was a good
hundred years after contact but that
doesn't mean that the inca didn't keep
doing what they'd always been doing they
did in fact
um making their art their textiles um
after the spanish arrives so this was a
really fascinating breakthrough
i also would like to introduce you to
a contemporary artist who is
of andean descent and her particular
interest area is based on textiles look
at her name vicuna
that's one of the animals that the that
the fibers come from
if you will uh google uh disappeared
kipu you can see
her her um her performance piece
on youtube and you can uh watch the
people interacting and knotting and
unknotting these giant cords
this is one of her stationary pieces
that you can see
it's really fun to be able to
incorporate contemporary
artists with the um the ancient
ways so let's
talk about monumental
stone architecture so far most
everything we've looked at
structure wise was made from adobe mud
brick but the inca had other things in
mind
and they are known for what's called
lithification of creating
giant stone sculptures structures
that replicate the natural environment
the mountains are everything right in
the andean region so here
shrouded in clouds you see the the andes
and then here is this
perfectly replicated
silhouette if you will of the mountains
that are behind it
this particular example has to comes
from machu picchu
remember that the andeans had been
terracing
hillsides for millennia this is how they
grew
all those potatoes that they needed and
this terracing cutting up and back up
and back up and back that is an example
of the step
fret isn't it so this idea of
manipulating the landscape
of humans being in control is something
that is very
appealing to the andean world view but
they're
also trying to replicate those very
mountains that you see
it is cusco then that is the axis mundi
or
center of the inca universe the axis
mundi is a term in latin
that means the center of the world and
we will use that across time and culture
so we will have the axis mundi for the
aztec world
the axis mundi for the people at tel te
wakan so this is a term that we use
in that way on the right is a
map of the sacred precinct at cusco
and so this would be where the emperor
would live
and from the center of that complex
there are 41
radial precincts so there's like these
lines that go out from the center do you
remember how we've been talking about
rays and the raid face
okay so lines emanating from the center
same idea here so the inca
emperor is living here there's all these
41 different sections that are divided
by what your status is in the inca world
and this
is the axis mundi the center of the
universe
this dotted line you see here is
detailed
on the right and we're going to take a
look at this object called the inca
throne and the zigzag walls
whether or not it was really a throne
that's sort of an english word but we
are
assuming that this was
a ritual space because of the time and
energy
that it took to create this is not a
daily living space this is a ceremonial
space
where there would have been a procession
and you can see
step step step and this would have been
a place where the high
elite would have gathered so we would
call this monumental stone
architecture and it is right next to
these very large stone walls
which are at location
saxa human and i particularly like this
image that you see because it
shows you how the mountains in the
background
the valleys between the mountains they
line up
with this huge stone wall
that you see again an example
of monumental stone architecture just
outside of the sacred precinct
at an elevation of 10 thousand
feet both these zigzag walls and the
throne
are carved from the living rock that
means they didn't bring stone
in they carved the stone that was
already there
here we see a series of sharp steps that
are carved
to mirror the hillside this would have
been used by the sapa inca or elite
ruler
in order to view and watch troops and
ceremonies
he drew his power from nature from the
hillside
it is also believed that this was an
offering site a place for sacrifice
and weddings as well
so these shadows that are cast this idea
of
coming down into this space
hooking together um
the mountains and nature and ceremony
and ritual
are a really important part of the
andean
mine set some of these individual stones
that you see down here at the bottom are
up to 13 feet high
and this shows you this the the power
that would have been drawn together
to get people to do this this is the
ultimate in reciprocity you see there's
people down here to give you a sense of
the scale
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