The economic success of the Inca Empire was in the efficient management of labor and the administration of resources they collected as tribute.  Collective labor was the base for economic productivity and for the creation of social wealth in the Inca society. By working together people in the ayllu created such wealth that the Spanish were astonished with what they encountered. Every citizen was required to contribute with his labor and refusal or laziness was punishable with the death penalty.

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Collective labor and tribute

There were three ways in which collective labor was organized:

The first one was the ayni to help a member of the community who was in need. Helping build a house or help a sick member of the community are examples of ayni.

The second was the minka or team work for the benefit of the whole community. Examples of minka are building agricultural terraces and cleaning the irrigation canals.

The third one was the mita or the tax paid to the Inca. Since there was no currency taxes were paid with crops, cattle, textile and specially with work. Mita laborers served as soldiers, farmers, messengers, road builders, or whatever needed to be done. It was a rotational and temporary service that each member of the ayllu was required to meet. They built temples and palaces, canals for irrigation, agricultural terraces, roads, bridges and tunnels; and all without the technological assistance of the wheel. This system was a balanced system of give and take. In exchange the government would provide food, clothing and medication. This system allowed the empire to have all the necessary produce available for redistribution according to necessity and local interests.

 

 

 

 

Ayllu members extracting potatoes as part of their mita

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The surplus of local producers was stored in collcas, storage buildings along the roads throughout the Tawantinsuyu, and tambos, resting places for the army that also served as storage. This surplus was then redistributed throughout the empire making products not available in a region available in others. The abundance and diversity of resources and its availability during bad crops and war made the population loyal to the local government and to the Inca creating what the Incas are known for “social wealth”.

To keep track of transactions they used quipus . They were fringes of color strings in which they would tie knots, the type of knots, color of the string and the positions of the knots on the strings would have a particular meaning. It was the Inca accounting system.

Quipu used by Incas as an accounting system

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The tenure of land

The usufruct of the land was a right that individuals had as members of the ayllu. The curaca, as the representative of the ayllu, redistributed the land to each member according to the size of their families. The dimensions of the land varied according to its agricultural quality and it was measured in tupus, a local measurement unit. A married couple would get one and a half tupus, for each male child the couple received one tupu and for each female half a tupu. When the son or daughter started their own family each additional tupu was taken away and given to the new family.

Each family worked their land but they did not own it, the Inca estate was the rightful owner. The land was used to provide subsistence food for the family.  Because the Inca Civilization did not use currency, economic exchanges were by reciprocity. Agricultural products that were considered surplus were exchanged by reciprocity in markets called catus.

Exchanges of surplus took place in markets called catus

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More about the Inca Civilization

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The Inca Empire and its origin

According to Inca tradition there are two myths explaining the origin of the Incas, the myth of Lake Titicaca and the myth of the Ayar brothers.

Inca expansion and its government

The government was highly organized without the benefits of a writing system. In order to control the population of such a vast territory they created laws that were rigidly enforced.

The Inca and its family

The Sapa Inca was polygamous and he usually married his sister who was his most important wife, she was known as the Coya.

Inca religion – A religion of many Gods

Inca religion was a large melting pot of beliefs. Since the Sapa Inca was a god, religion and government were in many ways intertwined.

Cusco, the City of the Puma

The inner city of Cusco was laid out in the shape of a puma whose head was the fortress of Sacsahuaman. His body was shaped by the rivers Tulumayo and Huatanay and his tail was where both rivers meet in a place known as Pumaq Chupan.

Society in the Inca Empire

Society in the Andes was built around the ayllu. All its members had some kind of family ties, like an extended family. They all believed they were descendants of a common ancestor.

Roads and Chasquis

Because the Inca Empire controlled such a vast territory they needed a way to communicate with all the corners of the empire. They set up a network of messengers known as Chasquis.

Inti Raymi, the celebration of the Sun

The Inti Raymi was prohibited by the Spanish during the conquest and colony claiming that it was a pagan ceremony and not in compliance with the Catholic religion.

The fall of the Inca Empire

A long civil war between brothers Huascar and Atahualpa and disease brought by the Spaniards from Europe contributed to the rapid decline of the empire.

Travel Peru – Cusco

It is estimated that around 1.5 million tourists visit Cusco every year, Machu Picchu and the city of Cusco have become the main tourist attractions in Peru and one of the most visited in South America.

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