Inca road system

The Inca road system (also spelled Inka road system and in meaning "royal road") was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. It was about long in total. The construction of the roads required a large expenditure of time and effort.

The network was composed of formal roads carefully planned, engineered, built, marked and maintained; paved where necessary, with stairways to gain elevation, bridges and accessory constructions such as retaining walls, and water drainage systems. It was based on two north–south roads: one along the coast and the second and most important inland and up the mountains, both with numerous branches.

It can be directly compared with the road network built during the Roman Empire, although the Inca road system was built one thousand years later. and inhabited by about 12 million people.

The roads were bordered, at intervals, with buildings to allow the most effective usage: at short distance there were relay stations for chasquis, the running messengers; at a one-day walking interval tambos allowed support to the road users and flocks of llama pack animals. Administrative centers with warehouses, called qullqas, for re-distribution of goods were found along the roads. Towards the boundaries of the Inca Empire and in newly conquered areas pukaras (fortresses) were found.

A 2021 study found that its effects have lingered for over 500 years, with wages, nutrition and school levels higher in communities living within 20 kilometers of the Inca Road, compared to similar communities farther away.

Extent

thumb|upright|Road system of the Inca Empire

The Tawantinsuyu, which integrated the current territories of Peru, continued towards the north through present-day Ecuador, reaching the northernmost limits of the Andean mountain range in the region of Los Pastos in Colombia; by the South, it penetrated down to the Mendoza and Atacama lands, in the southernmost reaches of the Empire, corresponding currently with Argentine and Chilean territories. On the Chilean side, the road reached the Maipo river.

As indicated by Hyslop, "The main route of the sierra (mountains) that passes through Quito, Tumebamba, Huánuco, Cusco, Chucuito, Paria and Chicona to the Mendoza River, has a length of 5,658 km." (3,516 miles) to

Two main routes were defined: the eastern one, inland, runs high in the puna grassland, a large and undulating surface, which extends above ; the second one, the western route, that starts from the region of Tumbes in the current Peru–Ecuador border, follows the coastal plains,

Recent investigations carried out under the Proyecto Qhapaq Ñan, sponsored by the Peruvian government and basing also on previous research and surveys, suggest with a high degree of probability that another branch of the road system existed on the east side of the Andean ridge, connecting the administrative centre of Huánuco Pampa with the Amazonian provinces and having a length of about .

More than twenty transversal routes ran over the western mountains, while others traversed the eastern cordillera in the mountains and lowlands, connecting the two main routes and populated areas, administrative centres, agricultural and mining zones, as well as ceremonial centres and sacred spaces in different parts of the vast Inca territory. Some of these roads reach altitudes of over above sea level. that "Cozco in the language of the Incas means navel that is the Earth's navel".

The four regions were named Chinchaysuyu towards the North, Collasuysu towards the South, Antisuyu towards the East and the lower valleys of the Amazon region and Contisuyu towards the West and the lower valleys along the Pacific coast.

The route towards the North was the most important in the Inca Empire, as shown by its constructive characteristics: a width ranging between 3 and 16 m

The route of Qollasuyu leaves Cusco and points towards the South, splitting into two branches to skirt Lake Titicaca (one on the east and one the west coast) that join again to cross the territory of the Bolivian Altiplano. From there the roads were unfolding to advance towards the southernmost boundaries of the Tawantinsuyu. One branch headed towards the current Mendoza region of Argentina, while the other penetrated the ancient territories of the Diaguita and Atacama people in Chilean lands, who had already developed basic road networks. From there, crossing the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert, the Qollasuyu route reached the Maipo river, currently in the Santiago metropolitan region. From there no vestiges of the Inca advance have been found. The road system allowed for a fast movement of persons from one part of the Empire to the other: both armies and workers used the roads to move and the tambos to rest and be fed. It also allowed for the fast movement of information and valuable small goods which traveled through the chasquis. The Incas gave priority to the straightness of the roads, whenever possible, to shorten the distances. pointed out additional factors that conditioned the location of Inca settlements and roads, such as the establishment of control zones in an intermediate location with respect to the populations and productive lands of the valleys, the requirement of specific goods, and storage needs, which were favored in the high plains of the Altiplano, characterized by low temperatures and dry climates. As an example, the administrative center of Huánuco Pampa includes 497 collcas, which totaled as much as and could support a population of between twelve and fifteen thousand people. which had an extremely long expiration date and made them ideal for long-term storage for the army in the event of conflicts.

The use of the Inca roads, in the colonial period, after the Spanish conquest of Peru was mostly discontinued. The Conquistadors used the Inca roads to approach the capital city of Cusco, but they used horses and ox carts, which were not usable on such a road, and soon most of the roads were abandoned.

Only about 25 percent of this network is still visible today, the rest having been destroyed by wars (conquest, uprising, independence or between nations), the change in the economic model which involved abandoning large areas of territory, and finally the construction of modern infrastructure, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which led to the superposition of new communication channels in the outline of pre-Hispanic roads.

Transportation

thumb|The Inca road bordering the Titicaca lake seen from the mirador of Chucuito, Peru.

Transportation was done on foot as in pre-Columbian America; the use of wheels for transportation was not known. The Inca had two main uses of transportation on the roads: the chasqui (runners) for relaying information (through the quipus) and lightweight valuables throughout the empire, and llamas caravans for transporting goods.

Llamas were used as pack animals in large flocks. They are lightweight animals and cannot carry much but are incredibly nimble. To transport large numbers of goods across the empire, it was more efficient for the Incas to use herds of llamas and to have two or three herdsmen. Llamas have soft, padded hoofs, which give them good traction and a negligible impact on the road surface. Llamas of the Q'ara race (short-haired variety), which are used also in contemporary caravans, can carry about for a distance of per day, when necessary they can carry up to for short trips. They forage on natural vegetation. Commercial exchanges between manufacturers or producers and buyers were not practiced, as the management of all goods came under the control of the central authority. The redistribution of goods was known as the vertical archipelago: this system formed the basis for trade throughout the Inca Empire. have noted that there was a possible barter of goods along the roads between caravanners and villagers: a sort of "secondary exchange" and "daily swapping".

Military

These roads provided easy, reliable and quick routes for the Empire's administrative and military communications, personnel movement, and logistical support. After conquering a territory or convincing the local lord to become an ally, the Inca would employ a military-political strategy including the extension of the road system into the new dominated territories.

Religious

thumb|The Inca coastal road at the Pachacamac Sanctuary

The high altitude shrines were directly related to the cult of Nature and specifically to the mountains, typical of the Inca society, which the Incas formalized by the construction of religious structures on the mountain peaks. Mountains are the apus, or deities, in the universe of Andean beliefs that are still held today; they have a spiritual connotation linked to the future of Nature and human existence. The Incas held many rituals, including the sacrifice of children, goods, and llamas, at the mountain tops as part of this belief. However, not all mountains held the same religious connotation nor were sanctuaries built on all of them. The only way to reach the summits of the mountains for worship was by connecting the road system to high altitude paths in order to reach the sacred places. They were ritual roads that culminated in the peaks, at the point of contact between the earthly and the sacred space. Some of them reached high altitudes above sea level, such as mount Chañi, which had a road that started at the base and went to the summit at an elevation of .

In addition to high altitude shrines, there were also many holy shrines or religious sites, called wak’a, that were a part of the Zeq’e system along and near the roads, especially around the capital city, Cusco. These shrines were either natural or modified features of the landscape, as well as buildings, where the Inca would visit for worship.

The reign of the Incas originated during the Late Intermediate period (between 1000 CE and 1450 CE), when this group dominated only the region of Cusco. Inca Pachakutiq

The historical stage of the Empire begun around 1438 when, having settled the disputes with local populations around Cusco, the Incas started the conquest of the coastal valleys from Nasca to Pachacamac and the other regions of Chinchaysuyu. which reduced the population from more than 12 million people to about 1.1 million in 50 years

The admiration of the chroniclers was not enough to convince the Spanish ruler of the need to maintain and consolidate the road system rather than abandoning and destroying it. The reduction of the local population to newly built settlements (known as reducciones, a sort of concentration camps) was among the causes of the abandonment of the Inca roads and the building of new ones to connect the reducciones to the centers of Spanish power.

Post-colonial and modern times

thumb|Cusco, Peru - plaque indicating the 4 directions of the 4 regions (suyus) of the Inca Empire

After the independence from Spain the American republics, throughout the 19th century, did not provide significant changes to the territory. In the case of Peru, the territorial structure established by the Colony was maintained while the link between the production of the mountains and the coast was consolidated under a logic of extraction and export.

Architecture and engineering of the Inca roads

thumb|Manager of the Inca bridges

thumb|Manager of the royal roads

The Incas built their road system by expanding and reinforcing several pre-existing smaller networks of roads, adapting and improving previous infrastructures, setting up a system of formal roads and providing a maintenance system that would protect the roads and facilitate the displacements and the exchange of people, goods and information. The outcome was a great road network of subcontinental dimensions, which, from Cusco, was directed in the four cardinal directions that marked the territorial division of Tawantinsuyu, which allowed the Inca and his officers to have knowledge of everything that circulated on the roads, however far away they were.

Construction and maintenance

The manpower required for both construction and maintenance was obtained through the mita: a sort of tax work, provided to the state by the conquered people, by which the Inca Empire produced the required goods and performed the necessary services, which included the upkeep of roads and their relevant infrastructures (bridges, tambos, warehouses, etc.). noted that these authorities were chosen among the noble relatives of the Inca, residents of Cusco. There were three main officials: the manager of the royal roads, the manager of bridges, the manager of chasquis. There were also several amojonadores or builders of landmarks.

Architectural components

Hyslop

Near urban and administrative centers there is evidence of two or three roads constructed in parallel.

thumb|An apacheta in the southern part of the Inca road system in the current province of [[Salta, Argentina]]

The apachetas (South American cairns) were mounds of stones of different sizes, formed through gradual accumulation by the travelers, who deposited stones as an offering to preserve their travel from setbacks and allow for its successful conclusion. The apachetas were located on the side of the roads in transitional spaces such as passes or "points of interest" for travellers. This practice was condemned for its pagan character during the Colony and the Viceroyalty, when priests were ordered to dismantle them and plant crosses instead. Nevertheless, the tradition of making apachetas was not discontinued and crosses or altars of different sizes were accompanied by mounds of stone.

Equipment

Garcilaso de la Vega and served as a royal estate populated by the ruling Inca and several hundred servants. It required regular infusions of goods and services from Cusco and other parts of the Empire. This is evidenced by the fact that there are no large government storage facilities at the site. A 1997 study concluded that the site's agricultural potential would not have been sufficient to support residents, even on a seasonal basis.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Trailer: "Qhapaq Ñan, Voices of the Andes"
Geographic database of the Inca road system from a French university
Article: "Reinventing the Inca roads: Representations and construction of memory in Peru (2001–2011)"
UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Main Inca Road – Qhapaq Ñan