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The economy of the Inca Empire, which lasted from 1438 to 1532, was based on local traditions of "solidarity" and "mutualism", transported to an imperial scale,^[1] and established an economic structure that allowed for substantial agricultural production as well as the exchange of products between communities. It was based on the institution of reciprocity, considered the socioeconomic and political system of the Pre-Columbian Andes (similar to a form of serfdom).^[2]

Inca society is considered to have had some of the most successful centrally organized economies in history.^[3] Its effectiveness was achieved through the successful control of labor and the regulation of tribute resources. In Inca society, collective labor was the cornerstone for economic productivity and the achieving of common prosperity.^[4] Members of an ayllu (the basic unit of socio-territorial organisation) developed various traditions of solidarity to adapt to the Andean environnement. The economic prosperity of the Inca State caused the Spanish conquerors to be impressed by the foreign forms of organisation.^[5] According to each ayllu, labor was divided by region, with agriculture centralized in the most productive areas; ceramic production, road construction, textile production, and other skills were also tasks distributed among members of an ayllu.^[6] After local needs were satisfied, the state apparatus gathered all surplus that is gathered from ayllus and allocated it where it was needed. Populations of local chiefdoms in the Inca Empire received clothes, food, health care, and schooling in exchange for their labour.^[7]

The Sapa Inca governed by means of personal relations with the rulers of the local states,^[8] adopting the ethnological concept of "reciprocity" or "exchange".^[9]

Reciprocity

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Redistributive system

The basis of the Andean socio-political organisation was the ayllu, a group of families united by real or mythical kin ties, and separated into a male and a female line. The ruler of an ayllu was the kuraka, or chief, called kamachikuq, and was part of the class of common people ("Hatunruna").

Each ayllu owned a marka, or village. The vertical archipelago, adopted by the Lupaqa chiefdom, was occasionally used by the Inca Emperors. Depending on its geographical position, each ayllu was specialized in exploiting certain eco-regions. Agricultural ayllus were situated near fertile land and grew crops that were suited to the soil type. Their production would be taken by the state apparatus, who would then transfer it to other regions of the country where the resource was unavailable. Excess was kept in storage houses near urban centers, along roads and highways.^[10] Other ayllus would specialize in pottery, clothes, or jewelry production; skills were passed on from generation to generation within the same ayllu.^[11]

Socio-political structures

The socio-territorial structures were scaffoldings of chiefdoms, organized pyramidally and segmentarilly, according to interpersonal relations (individualized and institutionalized) and possession of land (owned collectively).^[1]

Ayllus were federated into chiefdoms (also called curacazgos or huarangas), governed by kurakas called Apu kurakas, and small chiefdoms were organized into larger chiefdoms, governed by apu kurakas called Hatun kurakas.^[12][13] The grand chiefdoms, adopting redistributive systems of reciprocal exchange, exchanging liberalities, often in the form of feasts, for workforce, allegiances, and a significant reduction of sovereignty, with the local rulers, represented the highest level of integration reached in the pre-Hispanic Andes, while the inca Empire did not introduce an imperial-wide integration, instead governing on the basis of local hierarchies.^{[14][1][12][13]} Inca expansion, possibly initiated by the acquisition of the Chanka war booty following the inka-chanka war, which gave an initial advantage to the inca chiefdom, added a new sphere to the redistributive system established in the Andes, exchanging the newly acquired goods for the workforce, and the allegiance, of the neighboring rulers, and therefore multiplying reciprocal relations and slowly dominating the local socio-economic system.^[2][1][15]

Land possession in the Inca Empire

The land of an ayllu was owned collectively. As the ayllu's delegate, the kuraka redistributed the property among families. The land's measurements were calculated in tupus, a local measuring unit, and differed depending on the agricultural condition of the region.^[16]

A married pair would get one and a half tupus, with one tupu for each male child and half a tupu for each female child. When the children started their own family, the additional tupu was transferred to the family of the son or daughter. The property was used by the families of the ayllu, but they did not own it. The farm was used to supply the family with subsistence food.^[16]

Collective labor tribute

Under the inca empire, officials routinely conducted a census of the male population in order to determine if labor conscription was necessary. Individuals, including adolescents, were obligated to work in different labor capacities on a revolving basis, whether it was livestock, building, or at home. Inca officials received two-thirds of a farmer's crops (over 20 varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potatoes).^[17]

This system of work was organized within the framework of institutionalized reciprocity, the Inca emperor was united by personal relations to the regional rulers.^[8] The inca emperor regularly provided the local rulers with goods, and those partially redistributed those goods to the local people, providing them with housing, food, and clothing. In return, the commoners found themselves obligated towards their lords, and the lords towards the inca emperor.^[8] The free allocation of ceremonial beer was one of the special incentives. For this institutionalized generosity, Inca bureaucracy used a specific open space in the city's center as a social gathering place for local lords to celebrate and drink ritual beer.^[18][19] With the creation of the inca empire, exchanging goods for human energy became a fundamental aspect of unified inca rule.^[1]

Collective reciprocal labor may be structured in three ways: The first was the ayni, which served to assist members and families of the society in need; the second was the minka, or collective effort for the good of the whole community, and included the construction of public works; the mita, or tribute charged to the Inca, was the third, and served as a state-wide minka rotational and temporary service, constructing important public structures, and being principally used by inca bureaucracy. This structure was a give-and-take system, based on the reciprocal exchange of "gifts" in an institutionalized exchange.^[20] This scheme required the inca empire to be in possession of the goods necessary for sociopolitical and economic domination, and redistribution based on need and local interests.^[21]

Quipu, record-keeping system

Despite the lack of a written language, the Incas invented a system of record-keeping simple and stereotyped information based on knotted string known as "quipu".^[15] To describe the decimal system, these knot structures used complex knot arrangements and color-coded parts. These cords were used to keep track of their stored goods, available workforce, valuable things such as maize, which was used to craft ceremonial beer,^[18] and potentially historical information based on stereotyped "messages" related to oral "narrations".^[15] The "quipu" was in control of every economic part of the large empire. "Quipucamayocs" or in other words "Incan accountants" were the ones in charge of keeping the documentation of the quipu.^[22] There are 1,500 strings on the largest quipu. The Sacred City of Caral Supe has the oldest quipu, which dates from about 2500 BC.^[23]

Currency in Incan Economy

Money was not used by the Incas.^[24] Rather, a person's labor was "rewarded with the guarantee of future mutual assistance and social standing",^[24] which represented giving labor prestations rather than "taxes".^[1]

Trading system in Inca Empire

Land could be controlled by each seemingly large family. To plow, sow seeds, and later harvest the crops, individuals required additional labor prestations from the family members. A similar method known as "minka" was used for larger-scale cooperative work, such as the construction of houses or other infrastructure. Participants were compensated in kind. This system is still in use in some Quechua cultures of the Andes. The philosophical, metaphysical principle that underpinned the concepts of "ayllus" and "minka" was known as "ayni", an ancient Andean idea of mutualism and reciprocity.^[4] Because all and everyone in the society was seen as interconnected, each member voluntarily participated in their labor and production. Expecting to be offered something in return later. In a world without monetary currencies, the idea of "ayni" may be applied to all mutual transfers of energy and commodities between people and nature. In addition, the central Inca government instituted supply management and a taxation structure. As a levy, each resident was forced to give the Inca rulers a time of labor and a portion of their cultivated crops. As a result, surplus crops were taken by the government and distributed to villages in desperate need of food.^[25] These local systems of mutual aid and solidarity created various obligations and rights, and were originally created in order to adapt to the harsh environment of the Andes mountains.^[1]

In the absence of currency, foreign trade was rare and exceptional. The "mindalae" on the Ecuadorian coast were merchant corporations in charge of trade. Another exception was the chiefdom of Chincha on the central Peruvian coast, where a social class of merchants had developed. Long-distance trade happened punctually with Polynesia and western Mexico.^[19] In addition, there was a space-time for trade, in Cusco, called catu, which happened annually.^[26]

Infrastructure system of the Inca Empire

Inca administration constructed and renovated very complex ancient networks of roads and bridges, known as Qhapaq Ñan, in order to improve the ability of the Inca to exert imperial authority. Inca engineers improved upon earlier cultures' highways, such as those built by the Chimu, Wari, and Tiwanaku, among others.^[6] Since 1994, UNESCO World Heritage Sites have preserved these roads and the Inca and pre-Inca structures next to them. There were two major roads that ran from north to south, one along the coast and the other along the Andes, with smaller networks of roads linking the two. The royal road on the Andes began in Quito, Ecuador, and ended near Tucuman, Argentina, after passing through Cajamarca and Cusco. The Andean Royal Road was more than 3,500 miles long, far exceeding the length of the longest Roman path.^[6]

As the Incas had no horses nor wheel technology for much of their history, the majority of traveling was by foot, with llamas transporting merchandise from one section of the empire to the other. Messengers or chasquis used roads to transport messages throughout the empire. The Incas devised strategies for navigating the Andes' rugged terrain: They designed stone steps that looked like massive flights of stairs on steep slopes, and low walls were constructed in desert regions to prevent sand from drifting across the lane.^[27]

Bridge building

Bridges were constructed all over the Inca empire, connecting roads that crossed rivers and deep canyons in one of the world's most challenging terrains. The Inca empire's structure and economy necessitated the construction of these bridges. Natural fibers were used by the Incas to build impressive suspension bridges or rope bridges.^[28] These fibers were tied together to form a rope that was as long as the bridge's desired length. They braided three of these ropes together to make a stronger, longer rope; they would keep braiding the ropes until they met the required distance, weight, and power. The cables were then bound together with tree branches, and timber was applied to the floor to create a cable floor that was at least four to five feet high. The completed cable floor was then connected to abutments on either side that supported the ends. Ropes that acted as handrails were often fixed on all sides of the bridge. Near Cusco, in the town of Huarochiri, is the only remaining Inca suspension bridge.^[29]

Communication in the Inca Empire

Since the Inca Empire ruled over such a large area, they wanted a way to interact with everybody in it. They developed a network of messengers to deliver critical messages. The Chasquis, or messengers, were selected from among the best and fittest male youths. They relayed signals over long distances every day. They stayed in communities of four or six in cabins or tambos along the roads. When one chasqui was seen, another will dash to reach him. He'd sprint alongside the arriving courier, attempting to listen and memorize the message while still relaying the quipu if he had one. The exhausted chasqui would retire to the cabin for rest, while the other would sprint to the next relay stop.^[30] Messages could fly over 250 miles a day in this manner. An immediate alert was transmitted via a chain of bonfires in the event of an attack or revolt. When the chasquis saw the smoke, they ignited a bonfire that could be seen from the next cabin or tambo. Before the source of the fire was understood, the Sapa Inca would send his army into the bonfire, where he would normally find a messenger and hear the essence of the emergency from him. Some tambos, or relay sites, were more elaborate than others, according to archeological finds. They were most often used as a rest stop for officials or the Sapa Inca as they traveled through the empire.^[19]

References