146 Administration of the Inca Empire
Learning Objective
- Understand the importance of the governing bodies, road system, recording tools, and social hierarchy of the Inca Empire
Key Points
- The Inca Empire utilized a complex road system with about 25,000 miles of roads that relayed messages and goods throughout the society.
- Inca administrators used brightly colored knotted strings called quipus to keep precise records of labor, taxes, and goods.
- The Inca had no written legal code, but relied on magistrates and inspectors to keep people in line with established social customs.
Terms
quipus
Brightly colored knotted strings that recorded numerical information, such as taxes, goods, and labor, using the base number of 10 to record data in knots.
suyus
Distinct districts of the Inca Empire that all reported back to the capital of Cusco. There were four major districts during the height of the empire.
ayllu
A clan-like family unit based upon a common ancestor.
Hierarchy
The Inca Empire was a hierarchical system with the emperor, or Inca Sapa, ruling over the rest of society. A number of religious officials and magistrates oversaw the administration of the empire directly below the emperor. Kurakas were magistrates that served as the head of an ayllu, or clan-like family unit based on a common ancestor. These leaders mitigated between the spiritual and physical worlds. They also collected taxes, oversaw the day-to-day administration of the empire in their regions, and even chose brides for men in their communities. Some of the privileges kurakas enjoyed included exemption from taxation, the right to ride in a litter, and the freedom to practice polygamy.
Society was broken into two distinct parts. One segment was comprised of the common people, including those cultures that had been subsumed by the Inca Empire. The second group was made up of the elite of the empire, including the emperor and the kurakas, along with various other dignitaries and blood relations. Education was vocationally based for commoners, while the elite received a formal spiritual education.
There was no codified legal system for people that broke with the cultural and social norms. Local inspectors called okoyrikoq, or “he who sees all,” reported back to the capital and the emperor and made immediate decisions regarding punishment in cases where customs were not honored. Many times these local inspectors were blood relatives of the emperor.
Road System
The Inca civilization was able to keep populations in line, collect taxes efficiently, and move goods, messages, and military resources across such a varied landscape because of the complex road system. Measuring about 24,800 miles long, this road system connected the the regions of the empire and was the most complex and lengthy road system in South America at the time. Two main routes connected the north and the south of the empire, with many smaller branches extending to outposts to the east and west. The roads varied in w