Page 211 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1988 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Incan Diplomacy

. . . the Incas marched to the valley of Pachaca-
mac and the chief Cuismancu advanced to
defend his territory with a large force.The Inca Examples of this include the Casma area within the
general sent to him to say that it would be well Moche state and the oracle of Pachacamac on the central
not to fight until they had conversed more fully coast, venerated throughout its existence up until the
on the subject of their gods...The Inca general arrival of the Spaniards. On the south coast, Nazca pot-
also declared that... henceforth they would... tery shows trophy heads and later also militaristic motifs,
look upon the Rimac, whom the Yuncas [the but the area seems not to have been subjected to cen-
people of the valley of Pachacamac] wor- tralized state rule. Toward the end of the period, the
shipped, as a sacred oracle. And he proposed by expansion of the Tiwanaku polity in the Titicaca basin
way of brotherly exchange, that they should shows little direct indication of military conquest, but
also take the Sun as a god...The Yuncas agreed there is evidence of human sacrifice and the hostage-
to worship the Sun like the Incas...The King taking of subject peoples’ sacred objects. In northwest
Cuismancu was to remain in the enjoyment of Argentina, warriors and trophy heads appear as artistic
his lordship. . . Peace was established on these themes at this time.
conditions...proper garrisons and officers... In the Middle Horizon (600–1000 CE), a short-lived
placed in the new territory. . . but powerful state based at Wari in the Mantaro basin, in

Source: de la Vega, G. (1941).The first part of the royal commentaries of the Incas, the south-central highlands, seems to have controlled the
London, 1869–1871: Vol. 2. (p. 189). In J. Bram, An analysis of Inca militarism
(p. 52). Seattle: University of Washington Press. south and central coasts in their entirety and almost all
of the Peruvian highlands from the city of Pikillaqta in the
south to Cajamarca in the north. Like its southern coun-
Trophy heads appear not only on north coast pottery, but terpart Tiwanaku, Wari based much of its power at the
also on chavinoid Paracas textiles on the south coast and periphery of its domain on dispersed administrative cen-
in the art of Pukara in the Titicaca basin. Skull fractures ters that regularly hosted ceremonial feasts for local lead-
indicating blows to the head occur among the mummies ers.Although some sites suggest a military presence, such
at Paracas. The Chavín interaction sphere began to dis- as on the boundary of Tiwanaku in the southern high-
integrate in the third century BCE. lands, relations with earlier polities in the northern high-
In the Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE–600 CE) the lands and on the coast show little evidence of militarism.
decidedly more militaristic Moche state controlled much As in earlier periods, however, there is evidence of human
of the north coast and built heavy fortifications against a sacrifice and ritual decapitation. During this period, the
highland polity based at Cajamarca. Such defensive archi- Moche state declined and shifted its capital farther north.
tecture typically consisted of hilltop bastions with walls, The Wari empire collapsed around 800 CE and Tiwanaku
moats, and stores of sling stones, but as they lacked water about two centuries later.
they appear to have been built as protection against brief In the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1476 CE), the
raids rather than long-term sieges.Trophy heads occur on collapse of Wari and Tiwanaku left smaller polities war-
Moche ornaments, and the pottery shows many realistic ring with their neighbors throughout southern and cen-
war scenes, with warriors in helmets with maces and tral Peru. One of these was the emergent Inca state
shields, and the sacrifice of prisoners. Recuay pottery based in the Cuzco valley on the southern boundary of
from the adjacent highlands also shows warriors with the former Wari empire.The endemic warfare selected for
clubs, shields, or trophy heads. Moche expansion relied militaristic leadership in Cuzco as elsewhere. Most
on a mixture of military conquest and voluntary conver- archaeological sites from this period are fortified or
sion of local chiefs, a pattern that continues through later located on easily defensible hilltops. Coastal and high-
expansions including the Inca. Prestigious older polities land groups in central Peru fought over access to the best
were sometimes incorporated peacefully by indirect rule. coca-producing lands at intermediate elevations. In the