All the records for nearby
villages were reported by their leaders and recorded in the city by the
quipucamayoc. About the only people who lived in the city were the metalworkers,
carpenters, weavers and other crafters who made artwork for the temples. These
people lived in the artisans' quarters. Outside of the cities were the
government storehouses and soldiers' barracks.
In every major Inca city, the Sapa Inca had a palace for use when he visited
the city. On those grounds were the convents for the Sun Virgins and houses for
servants. The buildings on the grounds were single storied edifices, built of
stone with a thatched grass roof. Their only entrance was to the courtyard that
they were on.
ECONOMY
Everyone worked except for the very young and the very old. Children worked
by scaring away animals from the crops and helping in the home.
About 2/3 of a farmer's goods would be shared by a tax system, and the rest
were for keeps. Some of the goods would be distributed to others, goods would be
received in return, and the rest was stored in government storehouses or
sacrificed to the gods.
Each ayllu - clans - had their own self-supporting farm community. Ayllu
members worked the land cooperatively to produce food crops and cotton. All work
was done by hand because the Incas lacked wheeled tools and draft animals. Their
simple implements included a heavy wooden spade or foot plow called a taclla, a
stone-tipped club to break up clods, a bronze-bladed hoe, and a digging stick.
The inhabitants of the Andean region developed more than half the
agricultural products that the world eats today. Among these are more than 20
varieties of corn; 240 varieties of potato; as well as one or more varieties of
squash, beans, peppers, peanuts, and cassava (a starchy root); and quinoa, which
is made into a cereal.
By far the most important of these was the potato. They grew over 20
varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potatoes.The Incas planted the potato,
which is able to withstand heavy frosts, as high as 4600 m (15,000 ft). At these
heights the Incas could use the freezing night temperatures and the heat of the
day to alternately freeze and dry the potatoes until all the moisture had been
removed. The Incas then reduced the potato to a light flour.
They cultivated corn up to an altitude of 4100 m (13,500 ft) and consumed it
fresh, dried, and popped. They also made it into an alcoholic beverage known as
saraiaka or chicha.
The Incas faced difficult conditions for agriculture. Mountainous terrain
limited the land that could be used for agriculture, and water was sometimes
scarce.
To compensate, the Incas adopted and improved upon the terracing methods
invented by pre-Inca civilizations. They built stone walls to create raised,
level fields. These fields formed steplike patterns along the sides of hills
that were too steep to irrigate or plough in their natural state. Terraces
created more arable land and kept the topsoil from washing away in heavy rains.
Although rain generally falls in the Andes between December and May, there
are often years of drought. The Incas constructed complex canals to bring water
to terraces and other patches of arable land.
They also made use of natural fertilizers. Guano, the nitrate-rich droppings
of birds, was plentiful in coastal areas. In the highlands, farmers used the
remains of slaughtered llamas as a fertilizer.
Camelids, such as llamas, alpacas, and vicu as, were very important to
the economy. In addition to carrying burdens, llamas and alpacas were raised as
a source of coarse wool and of dung, which was used for fuel. The finest-quality
wool came from the wild vicu a, which was caught, sheared, and set free
again.
The Inca also raised guinea pigs, ducks, and dogs, which were the main
sources of meat protein.
GOLD - MONEY
The Incas are famous for their gold.
