INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY Nancy White - Touro Institute

and craftworkers, especially goldsmiths, who made highly prized wealth items. This state lasted
from about A.D. 800 until 1470, when it was conquered by the Inca, who brought Chimu
goldsmiths to their own capital.
Who were the Inca? The last great civilization of
South America, they were similar to the Aztec of
Mexico in gaining power by militaristic conquest and
strategy, and only began creating an empire in the
fifteenth century, shortly before the Spanish arrived.
Our knowledge of them is historic archaeology
because we have Spanish documents, but the Inca had
no writing system. Instead they used the quipu, a
system of colored, knotted cords, to keep records.
They built the largest empire in the world up to that
time and connected it with an elaborate road system
through the Andes. The capital was Cuzco, a highland
city which retains much of its prehistoric construction plan. Machu Picchu is a highland fortress
and royal estate famous for its inaccessibility and was apparently little-known or altered by
Spanish conquerors. Inca construction techniques used huge pillow-shaped stones that fit
together well without mortar. Construction was done by the mit’a system of groups of laborers
drafted into state service for specific tasks. Communication over the vast network of roads was
done by a relay messenger service of runners. The socialistic governmental system was unlike
anything known in Western society. The state owned all the land and goods and people were fed
and cared for, but owed labor taxes or tribute in textiles and other goods. The Inca empire fell to
Spanish conquistadors under Pizarro, who arrived in
1532.
Are the Inca and other native South Americans gone?
No. The large Indian populations of course reflect all
the change occurring over 500 years of European
dominance, but some native languages such as
Quechua, the language of the Inca, are still spoken.
Indigenous peoples in South America remain mostly
dominated by elites, however, of Euro-American or
other “foreign” descent.
What about archaeo-tourism and antiquities problems?
There are many sites that can be visited, and museums filled with beautiful pottery, gold, and
textiles. While it is similar to Mexico in that Americans can visit economically, the poverty of
Peru and the region today is great. Looted antiquities are often the major means of subsistence of
poor farming communities. The Sipan discoveries came after a disgruntled looter reported others
to the police; it is famous because there had never been an unlooted grave discovered before. The
market for such antiquities is high, such that the local looter gets a pittance compared with what
the piece brings the dealer at auction in New York or London. It is hard for the public to
understand that this is destruction of someone’s heritage. It is hard to care about heritage when
you are starving or, alternately, when it is not thought to be your own heritage and all you want