Chapter XVI: Ancient Peru (1)

First knowledge of Peru—Expeditions of Pizarro—Geography of
Peru—But a small part of it inhabitable—The tribes of ancient
Peru—How classified—Sources of our knowledge of Peru—Garcillasso
De La Vega—Origin of Peruvian civilization—The Bolson of
Cuzco—Historical outline—Their culture—Divided into phratries and
gentes—Government—Efforts to unite the various tribes—Their
system of colonies—The roads of the Incas—The ruins of Chimu—The
arts of the Chimu people—The manufacture of pottery—Excavation at
Ancon—Ruins in the Huatica Valley—The construction of a Huaca—The
ruins at Pachacamac—The valley of the Canete—The Chincha
Islands—Tiahuanuco—Carved gateway—The Island of
Titicaca—Chulpas—Ruins at Cannar—Aboriginal Cuzco—Temple of the
Sun—The Fortress—General remarks.

The

early part of the sixteenth century was surely a stirring time in
the world’s history. The night of the Dark Ages was passing off
of the Old World; the darker gloom of prehistoric times was
lifting from off the New. Spanish discoveries followed each other
in rapid succession in the South. As yet, they supposed these
discoveries to be along the eastern shores of Asia, but, in 1513,
Balboa, from a mountain peak, in Darien, saw the gleam of the
great Pacific, which intervenes between America and Asia. At the
same time he was informed there was a country to the southward
where gold was in common use, and of as little value among the
people as iron among the Spaniards. As gold was what the
Spaniards most desired, we can imagine how they rejoiced over
such information.

The rich country of which Balboa was thus informed was later
known as Peru. Balboa himself did not attempt its discovery.
There was no lack, however, of those who wished to achieve fame
and fortune by so doing. Among other restless spirits who had
been attracted to the New World, was Francisco Pizarro. He had
been associated with Balboa in founding the settlement of Darien,
and, of course, he was among the first to hear of the marvelous
country farther south. In 1518, Panama, on the Pacific coast, was
made the seat of government for the Spaniards in that section of
the country. Pizarro was one of the first there—his services had
been rewarded by the grant of an estate. The historian of his
expedition speaks of him as “one of the principal men of the
land, possessing his house, his farm, and his Indians.”1 We need
not doubt but what he often pondered over his knowledge of the
rich country south. He was well acquainted with Indian character,
and knew that a small band of resolute Europeans, possessed of
fire-arms, could sweep every thing before them.

He could not endure the quiet life on his estate, and so he
obtained from the governor permission to explore the coast of the
South Sea to the eastward. He spent a large part of his fortune
on a good ship and the necessary supplies for the voyage, and
finally set sail from Panama in November of 1524. It needed a man
of no common spirits to withstand the disappointments of the next
few years. In less than a year this ship returned to Panama for
reinforcements. Pizarro himself and a few of his men remained at
a place not very far from Panama. Here he was joined by
reinforcements under Almagro. Undismayed by his first experience,
he again sailed southward along the coast. Xeres’s brief account
is as follows: “When they thought they saw signs of habitations,
they went on shore in their canoes they had with them, rowed by
sixty men, and so they sought for provisions. They continued to
sail in this way for three years, suffering great hardships from
hunger and cold. The greater part of the crew died of hunger,
insomuch that there were not fifty surviving. During all these
years they discovered no good land; all was swamp and inundated
land without inhabitants.”

This expedition accomplished nothing further than to obtain
definite information as to Peru. Pizarro’s grant from the
governor having expired, and the further fact that he had spent
all his fortune in these unsuccessful expeditions, made it
necessary for him to go to Spain. Received by the emperor with
favor, clothed with ample authority, he was able to raise men and
money, and finally sailed from Panama in 1531 on his third and
successful expedition for the conquest of Peru. Thus was made
known to the world what is regarded as the most wonderful example
of native civilization in the two Americas.

The dawn of history for Peru was the sunset of her native
culture. In a few short years what has come down to us as the
Empire of the Incas was completely overthrown; the enslaved
Indians were groaning under the weight of Spanish oppression; the
demolition of her ancient monuments had already begun, and
romance, tradition, and wonder had already thrown their subtle
charms around the ruins. The old customs and usages were on the
sudden dropped, a new culture was forced upon the unwilling
natives, and prehistoric Peru, though distant but a few years in
time, was as completely separated from historic Peru as is the
culture of the Neolithic Age in Europe from that of the early
historic period.

The magician’s wand in the fairy stories of olden days did not
present results more bewildering in their changes than did the
operations of the Spaniards in Peru. All accounts unite in
praising the government of ancient Peru. There is probably no
question but what the government the Spaniards overthrew was one
far better adapted to the wants of the native inhabitants than
the one they forced them to accept. But when we read the accounts
of that government as set forth by the early writers, we are at a
loss to know what to believe. There is such an evident mixture of
fables, traditions, and facts, that the cautious student
hesitates, and asks what support the researches of later scholars
give to these early writers. We doubt whether we have to this day
clear ideas of the culture of ancient Peru. This is to be
regretted. There is no question but that here was the highest
development of the Indian race in America. If we accept the
accounts given us, here rose an empire which will not suffer by
comparison with the flourishing empires of early times in
Oriental lands. Let us try and learn what we can of this culture,
and see wherein it differed from that of the civilized tribes
already discussed.

Map of Peru

We must, first of all, acquaint ourselves with the physical
features of the country. We can never fairly judge of the
civilization or culture of a people until we know their
surroundings. One of the discoveries of late years is, that the
culture of a people is greatly influenced by their surroundings.
The very appearance of a country whether it is mountainous or
plain, sea-girt or inland, influences the character of a people.
Civilization is found to depend upon such common factors as
climate, food, and physical surroundings.2 Now if we will examine
the map of South America, we will see that the entire section of
country occupied by the tribes under consideration is very
mountainous. What is known as the Andes is in reality the most
eastern of the two ranges. The western one nearer the coast is
called the Cordillera, or the Coast Range. The summit of this
mountain range often spreads out into great undulating plains,
the general elevation of which is from fourteen to eighteen
thousand feet above the sea. This series of elevated plains forms
a dreary, uninhabited stretch of country, “frigid, barren, and
desolate, where life is only represented by the hardy vicuna and
the condor.”3

This is the uninhabited portion of Peru. The general width of
this plateau region is about one hundred and fifty miles. Passing
this dreary stretch of country we come to another still elevated
plateau section, which extends to the snow-clad Andes proper. The
distance between these two great mountain ranges is from one to
two hundred miles, but as we see on the map they come together in
places. One such place, the Pass of La Raya, fifteen degrees
south latitude is of importance as marking the northern extremity
of the great basin of Lake Titicaca. This basin is remarkable in
many respects. It is of no inconsiderable size, being six hundred
miles in length by one hundred and fifty in width. It has a lake
and river system of its own. At the northern extremity of the
basin is the noted Lake Titicaca, which is given by some as the
traditional place of origin of the Incas. This lake finds an
outlet in the River Desaguadero, which flows in a broad and swift
stream in a southerly direction, where it empties into Lake
Aullagas.

Of this lake we know next to nothing, but it seems to be
established that it has no outlet to the sea. Thus this Titicaca
basin is but another example of interior basins like that of our
own great Salt Lake. It is not, however, favorably situated for
agricultural purposes. It is a “region where barley will not
ripen except under very favorable circumstances and where maize
in its most diminutive size has its most precarious development;
where the potato, shrunk to its smallest proportions, is bitter;
where the only grain is the quinoa, and where the only indigenous
animals fit for food are the biscacha, the llama and the
vicuna.”4

Thus we see that a large part of the interior of Peru was not
desirable for habitations. But this great plateau region north of
the basin of Lake Titicaca is here and there broken up by what we
would call valleys, but which the Spaniards more appropriately
named _bolsons,_ literally meaning “pockets.” These bolsons are
of various altitudes, and, therefore have different climates and
productions. Some are well drained and fertile, others are marshy
and contain considerable lakes. As a general thing, the bolsons
are separated from each other by stretches of the dreary,
desolate plateau; or by ranges of precipitous hills and
mountains, or by profound gorges, along which courses some river
on its way to swell the flood of the mighty Amazon.

The coast range of mountains of which we have spoken runs nearly
parallel to the coast, distant from it about forty miles. This
stretch of country along the entire coast of ancient Peru is
mainly a desert. Owing to causes which we need not explain, rain
is almost unknown; the consequence is, the coast presents a
dreary, verdureless, forbidding appearance. The melting snows on
the great Cordillera, however, send down, here and there, on
their western flanks, feeble rivers. Some of these rivers reach
the sea, others prolong their flow but a few miles from the
mountains before the thirsty desert swallows them from view. As
is true of all desert countries, all that is needed to render it
fertile is water; so, wherever these rivers occur there are found
wonderfully fertile valleys. Every one of these valleys was once
thickly settled, but, like the bolsons of the interior, they were
not connected with each other. Each valley is separated from its
neighbor by many miles of almost trackless desert, across which
the Incas are said to have indicated the road by means of stakes
driven into the sand and joined by Ozier ropes. No remains of
such roads have been found by modern travelers.

Fortress, Huatica Valley

From this description it is “clear that but a small portion of
the country was inhabitable, or capable of supporting a
considerable number of people. The rich and productive valleys
and bolsons are hardly move than specks on the map.”5 It is
necessary that we bear this description of the country in mind.
It will help us to understand as nothing else will how the tribes
located in one rich and productive bolson could, by successive
forays, reduce to a condition of tribute tribes living in other
detached valleys and bolsons. It will also enable us to put a
correct estimate on the extravagant accounts that have reached us
of the population of this country under the rule of its ancient
inhabitants. We can also readily see why the tribes living in the
hot and fertile valleys along the coast, which were called Yuncas
by the Peruvians, should differ in religion and mental and moral
characteristics from the tribes living in the bolsons of the
interior, where the snow-clad peaks were nearly always in sight,
and where the sun, shedding his warm and vivifying beams, would
appear to the shivering natives as the beneficent deity from
whence comes all good.

We must now turn our attention to the tribes inhabiting the
section of country just described. We have seen that the Mayas,
of Central America, the Nahuas, of Mexico, and the sedentary
tribes, of the United States, were considerably in advance of the
great body of the Indian tribes of North America. We find the
same fact true of the natives of South America. Those tribes
inhabiting the territory of ancient Peru, and those of the
territory now known as the United States of Columbia, were
considerably further advanced than the wild tribes living in the
remaining portions of South America. Quite a number of our
scholars have grouped in one class these partially civilized
tribes of both North and South America, and called them the
Toltecan Family.6 But others do not think that there are
sufficient grounds for such a class division. They can not detect
any radical changes in the domestic institutions of the various
tribes.7 On this point we must wait until our authorities are
agreed among themselves.

Attempts have been made to classify the various partially
civilized tribes of Peru. There are several difficulties in the
way. It was, for instance, the custom of the Incas, whenever they
had reduced a tribe to tribute, to force them to learn their
language, which was the Quichua, and is what the early Spanish
writers call the general language of Peru.8 How far this language
was forced on the tribes, and how far it was their own idiom, we
can not tell. Mr. Markham, who has made a very careful study of
all the authorities bearing on Peru, divides the territory of
ancient Peru into five divisions, and in each locates a number of
tribes, which he thinks forms a family.

The first, and most northern one, extends north from near Tumbez,
in the present State of Ecuador. The second extends from Loja, on
the north, to Cerro De Pasco, in about eleven degrees south
latitude. The third, and most important, extends from this last
named place to the pass of La Raya, fifteen degrees south
latitude. This was the home of the Incas and five other closely
related tribes. To the south of La Raya is the basin of Lake
Titicaca, the home of a family of Indians generally known as the
Aymara Indians. This name is, however, wrong; these tribes should
be called the Collao Indians. These four divisions do not include
any territory west of the Cordillera range, except one part of
the third division. These four families are all closely related.
Mr. Markham thinks they all had a common origin. Mr. Squier
thinks the Collao, or, as they are generally called, the Aymara
Indians, are distinct from the others. “They differ from each
other as widely as the German’s differ from the French,” is his
own conclusion. The entire coast district of Peru was the home of
many tribes of Indians, about which we as yet know but little.
The name by which they are known is Yuncas.9

We are now ready to proceed to a consideration of the culture of
ancient Peru, and a description of the monuments. But before
doing so we must have a word to say as to the authorities. At the
time of the Spanish conquest of Peru, the Empire of the Incas was
supposed to have been in existence about four hundred years. But
the Incas had no hieroglyphic or pictorial system of recording
events. The most they had was a system of knot records or
quippos, which will be explained in due time. These records were
simply aids to the memory. Mr. Squier places them “about on a par
with Robinson Crusoe’s Notched Calendar, or the chalked tally of
an illiterate tapster.”10 They are manifestly of no value as
historical records.

It must be evident, then, that all our knowledge of Peru,
previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, rests solely upon
traditions. We have no reason to suppose that these traditions
are of more value in their case than in the case of other rude
and illiterate people. The memory of such people is very short
lived. The tribes in the southern part of the United States must
have been greatly impressed with Do Soto’s expedition. They heard
fire-arms for the first time, and for the first time saw horses
ridden by men. Yet in the course of a few generations they had
completely forgotten all this.11

One very eminent authority is Garcillasso De La Vega.12 Let us
examine his writings a minute. He was born in Cuzco about 1540,
but a few years after the conquest. His mother claimed descent
from the royal family. He left Peru in 1560, when he was just
twenty years old, and went to Spain. He first sought advancement
in the army. Despairing of success in that line, he turned his
attention to literature. One of his first works was an account of
De Soto’s expedition to Florida. The historian Bancroft thus
characterizes this work: “An extravagant romance, yet founded
upon facts—a history not without its value, but which must be
consulted with extreme caution.” Yet in this work there were no
subtile ties of blood, no natural bias as there would be in favor
of the land of his birth.

About 1600 he commenced his “Royal Commentaries of Peru.” This is
the main source of information as to ancient Peru. We must
reflect that he had been away from his native land forty years
when he commenced the work. His sources of information were the
stories told him in his boyhood days, the writings of the Spanish
travelers, monks, and conquerors, and what he learned by
corresponding with his old friends in Peru, which he did when he
formed the design of writing his history. In other words, his
history rests on the traditions extant at the time of the
conquest, viewed, however, from a distance of sixty years. Who
can doubt but what the old man, writing his accounts of this
mother’s race, that race that had been so deeply wronged, wrote
it under the influence of that potent spell, which the memory of
old age throws around childhood’s days?

It is evident we have in these accounts but little deserving the
name of history. When he undertakes to tell us of the doings of
the Incas, who are supposed to have reigned three or four hundred
years before the Spanish conquest, descending to such details as
what nations they subdued, the size of their armies, their
speeches to their soldiers, the words of counsel they addressed
to their heirs, their wise laws and maxims—and we know that this
account rests on traditions—he who believes that they are of
historical value, is surely possessed of a good store of
credulity. We do not mean to say that his writings are of no
account. On the other hand, they are of value. The historical
part we are to consider simply as traditions, and we are to weigh
them just as we would any other collection of traditions and
compare them with monuments still extant. He is good authority on
the customs and manners of the Peruvians just previous to the
arrival of the Europeans.

We have seen what strange mistakes the Spanish writers made in
describing the government and customs of the Mexicans. We have no
doubt but what substantially the same mistake has been made in
regard to Peru. We believe that a careful, critical study of all
that has been written on the subject of Peru by the early writers
will establish this fact. As yet this has not been done. We must
therefore be careful in our description of the state of society
amongst them, as we do not wish to make statements not supported
by good authority.

We must try and decide as to what is the most probable origin of
the ancient Peruvian civilization. Some of the earlier writers on
this subject would trace it to an influx of Toltecs, the same
mythical race that is credited with being the originators of the
culture found in Mexico and Central America. But our modern
scholars have clearly shown that the Toltec Empire, which was
supposed to have preceded the Mexican, never existed. What we are
to understand by the Toltecs is the sedentary tribes of Indians,
either of the Nahua or Maya stock. The only value we would assign
to the story of their dispersion is that it is a traditional
statement that the migration of the sedentary Indians has been in
a direction from north to south.

Ruins at Pachacamac

We have no means of knowing when the first tribes arrived in the
country, or of their state of culture. It was doubtless at a very
early date, and the tribes were probably not far advanced. We
have no reason to suppose the culture of Peru was influenced from
outside sources at all. We can not detect any evidence of a
succession of races in Peru. The distinguished author to whom we
have already referred13 speaks of what he calls the ancient
Peruvians as distinguished from the modern tribes that
acknowledged the government of the Incas.14 We think that all the
evidence points to a long continued residence of the same race of
people.

We may suppose that in the fertile valleys of the coast, and in
the bolsons of the interior, tribes of rude people were slowly
moving along the line of progress that conducts at last to
civilization. There is no reason to suppose that this progress
was a rapid one. Under all circumstances this development is
slow. We must not forget the natural features of the country. The
inhabited tracts were isolated, hence would arise numerous petty
tribes, having no common aims or mutual interests. Each would
pursue their own way, and would keep about equal pace through the
stages of Barbarism.15

In process of time geographical and climatic causes would produce
those effects, from which there is no escape, and some tribes
would distinguish themselves as being possessed of superior
energy, and the same results would follow there as elsewhere;
that is, the dominion of the strong over the weak. All other
circumstances being equal, we would look for this result in a
section where a mild climate and fertile soil enabled man to put
forth his energies, and rewarded his labors. All accounts agree
in speaking of the bolson of Cuzco as well provided by nature in
this respect. One eminent traveler speaks of it as “a region
blessed with almost every variety of climate. On its bracing
uplands were flocks of llamas and abundance of edible roots,
while its sunny valleys yielded large crops of corn, pepper, and
fruits.”16 Mr. Squier thinks that, on the whole, the climate is
very nearly the same as that of the south of France.17

This bolson was the home of the Incas. A number of writers speak
of the Incas very much as if they were a royal family. It is not
necessary to discuss this point very extensively at present. All
our accounts of their early history are traditional. Mr. Markham
and Mr. Squier, both competent judges, assert that the weight of
traditions is to the effect that the Incas originated near Cuzco.
“Universal traditions,” says Mr. Markham, “points to a place
called Peccari Tampu as the cradle or point of origin of the
Incas.” As near as we can make out from the description, this was
where, as seen from Cuzco, the sun appeared to rise.18

We must remark that the sun was the ancestral deity of the Incas.
All the Andean people worshiped some object as an ancestral
deity. “An Indian,” says La Vega, “is not looked upon as
honorable unless he is descended from a fountain, river, or lake,
or even the sea, or from a wild animal, such as a bear, lion,
tiger, eagle, or the bird they called a condor, or from a
mountain, cave, or forest.” The Incas claimed descent from the
sun. So we can see why their legends would center on the place
where the sun appeared to rise. In after years, when they had
extended their conquests to the Collao,19 and stood on the shore
of Lake Titicaca, the sun appeared to them to rise out of its
waves; and so this lake became to them a second point of
traditional origin.

We see we can not solve the question of the origin of the Incas
until we solve the deeper problems of the origin of the Andean
tribes. Every thing seems to indicate a long-continued residence,
perhaps for centuries, and a slow advance in culture. We are not
to suppose the Incas were endowed with unusual capacity for
improvement; all the tribes were probably about equal in this
respect.20 But their situation was in their favor, and they did
not have to contend with those obstacles that confronted other
tribes. They must have increased in numbers and in culture; they
would in time feel themselves strong enough for conquest. We must
bear in mind the peculiar geographical features of the country.
In the isolated valleys and bolsons were living other tribes, but
little inferior to the Incas. There were no common interests
between these tribes. One by one they fell before the assaults of
the Incas, and were reduced to tribute. Rendered still more
powerful by success, the Incas pushed on their conquests until
finally all the tribes living in that vast stretch of country
from the Andes to the Pacific, from Chili to the United States of
Colombia, acknowledged themselves tributary to the Incas. This
was the state of things when the Spaniards, under Pizarro,
appeared on the scene.

When we undertake to learn the history or the state of culture
among the Incas, we are entering on a difficult subject. Of their
history, we know but very little more than is given in this
outline; and owing to the complete absence of all records, we can
not expect to know very much. Garcillasso draws such an inviting
picture of the happy government of the Incas, that we would
suppose that no rebellion or insurrection would ever occur. It
seems, however, that their government was as much subject to such
trials as any. Mr. Forbes tells us that “the Aymaras never
submitted tamely to their Peruvian masters, but from time to time
gave them much trouble by attempting to recover their
independence.” And M. Reville tells us of the Incas that, “more
than once they had to suppress terrible insurrections.” And we
shall see, further on, that the probabilities are that the
various tribes composing this so-called empire were not more
compact and united than were the tribes composing the Mexican
Empire.

Shortly before the conquest, the Incas had reached their zenith
of power. Huayna Capac, who died about 1525, was in reality the
last of the Inca chiefs. Under his management the tribes as far
north as Quito were reduced to tribute. The story goes that
shortly before his death he divided the empire between two of his
sons. One, Huascar, the rightful heir to the throne; the other,
Atahualpa, half-brother to Huascar. His mother was daughter of
the last king (?) of Quito. Her father had been forced to submit
to the victorious Huayna Capac. This division of the Incarial
Empire, was not at all to the liking of either Huascar or
Atahualpa. They both wished to be sole Inca. Civil war was the
result. Atahualpa, by treachery, had taken his brother prisoner,
and would doubtless have achieved his ambition, but just then
Pizarro invaded the country, and the reign of the Incas was over.

Thus far, the story. We very much doubt whether this expresses
the facts of the case. There is no question, of course, that
civil war was in progress when the Spaniards arrived, which war,
by the way, was a very fortunate thing for the Spaniards; but we
do not know enough about the government of the Incas to know
whether Huayna Capac could bequeath any powers to his sons. About
all we are justified in saying is, that on his death, two persons
(they were very likely brothers, and sons of Huayna Capac)
aspired to the chieftaincy of the Incas, and, failing to agree,
resorted to war to settle the matter.

The question is, how far back in the unrecorded past can we
follow tradition? Huayna Capac is thought to have been chief for
about fifty years. His predecessor is said to have been one Tupac
Yupanqui. Velasco, an early writer on the Peruvians, thinks he
was chief for about thirty-six years. As this would carry us back
nearly one hundred years, it must be evident we have gone about
as far as we can place any reliance on tradition. However, the
third chief, going backwards, was also called Yupanqui, sometimes
denominated “Yupanqui the Great,” and his reign (?) takes us back
to about the year 1400. “Beyond this point,” says M. Castaing,
“we fall into a mythological era.” We fully agree with him. We
can not think there is any special value in accounts of events
said to happen before that time—that is, for historical purposes.

That there were victorious chiefs, conducting victorious forays
before that date, is, of course, admitted. That the names of many
of the chiefs have come down to us, as well as some of their
notable achievements is quite possible. It is also evident that
some mythological personages would appear in tradition as
“reigning Incas.” It is equally plain that neither Garcillasso,
nor any of the Spanish writers, had any clear ideas of these
ancient times or events. All traditions finally settle on Manco
Capac as the first chief of the Incas. M. Castaing says he “is
but an allegory of the period of formation.”21 The date of the
accession of this mythological chief is given by most authorities
as about the year 1000. M. Castaing thinks it was in the middle
of the twelfth century. It does not make much difference which
date the reader concludes to accept—one will do as well as the
other.22

Let us turn our attention to the culture of the Incas, and their
state of government. Here we would expect to be on firm ground.
We would expect the Spanish writers to give us reliable accounts
of the state of society of the people they conquered. But, as Mr.
Squier remarks, the overthrow of the Peruvian government “was so
sudden and complete that the chroniclers had hardly time to set
down the events which took place before their own eyes, and had
little leisure, or perhaps inclination, to make a careful
investigation into the principles of their civil and religious
polity. As a consequence, this work has devolved upon the
laborious student and archæologist of a later time.” In other
words, we are to compare the accounts given us by the early
writers with our present knowledge of Indian society.

We have already made the statement that the Inca were a tribe of
Indians. But, if they were a tribe, did they have the usual
subdivisions of a tribe—which, we remember, are the phratry and
gens? The Spanish writers say nothing about such divisions. This
is not strange. They said nothing about the phratries and gentes
of the Mexicans; and yet they were in existence. Neither did the
English mention the institution of the phratries and gentes among
the Iroquois; and yet they were fully developed. We answer, that
the Inca tribe were divided into both phratries and gentes. It is
necessary to show what grounds we have for such belief. It is
well to have a little better understanding of the surroundings of
this tribe.

The isolated section of country which they occupied is about
seventy miles long by sixty in width. “The proper name for the
aboriginal people of this tract,” says Mr. Markham, “is Incas.”
This word must have been at first the title for chief—for all the
chiefs in this section were called Incas; but, in process of
time, the name was assumed as the special title of the tribe at
Cuzco. Mr. Markham gives us further the names of seventeen
lineages who occupied this valley. Whether a lineage was a tribe
or not we can not decide. We will now confine our attention to
the ruling tribe at Cuzco.

The Spaniards noticed that Cuzco was divided into two parts,
called respectively Upper and Lower Cuzco. Garcillasso tells us
that this division was made as follows. Manco-Capac with his wife
and queen were children of the Sun, sent to civilize the Indians,
who, before their arrival, were a very degraded sort of savages.
From Cuzco this sun-descended couple went their different
ways—the king to the north, the queen to the south—“speaking to
all the people they met in the wilderness, and telling them how
their father, the Sun, had sent them from heaven to be the rulers
and benefactors of the inhabitants of all that land; . . . and,
in pursuance of these commands, they had come to bring them out
of the forests and deserts to live in villages.” This sounded so
good to the wild tribes, that they “assembled in great numbers,
both men and women,” and set out to follow their exhorters.23

The tribe that followed the king settled Upper Cuzco; while the
queen’s converts settled Lower Cuzco. This division was not made
so that those living in one half should have any special
privileges over the other—for they were all to be equal, like
brothers. The division was solely in order “that they might be a
perpetual memory of the fact that the inhabitants of one were
assembled by the king, and the other by the queen.” The only
difference between them was, “that the people of Upper Cuzco
should be looked upon and represented as elder brothers, and
those of Lower Cuzco as younger brothers.”

Such is the account of the settlement of Upper and Lower Cuzco.
Any one acquainted with the general principles on which the
division of Indian tribes into phratries took place, can not help
concluding that these divisions were simply two phratries. The
inhabitants of each traced their descent back to a supernatural
personage. They were equal in power to each other as elder and
younger brothers. Polo Ondegardo simply remarks that “the lineage
of the Incas was divided into two branches, the one called Upper
Cuzco, the other Lower Cuzco.”24 There ought to be no objection
to substituting for the word branches used above the scientific
term our scholars now employ; that is, phratry. Each tribe of the
Iroquois confederacy was divided into two phratries, and their
name for this division was a word which meant brotherhood.25

Whatever doubt we may have on this point vanished when we come to
examine into the customs of the Incas. We must not forget that
the most prominent way a phratry shows itself is in matters of
religion, and in the play of social games. “The phratry, among
the Iroquois,” says Mr. Morgan, “was partly for social and partly
for religious objects. . . . In the ball game, for example, they
play by phratries, one against the other. Each phratry puts
forward its best players, usually from six to ten on a side, and
the members of each phratry assemble together, but on opposite
sides of the field in which the game is played. The members of
each phratry watch the game with eagerness, and cheer their
respective players at every successful turn of the game.”

Relics from Guano Deposits.

Let us see how it was among the Incas.26 Like all Indian tribes,
the Incas were very fond of ceremonious feasts. Nearly every
month they celebrated one or more. We gather from Molina that on
occasions when the whole tribe participated in such religious
observances, the people of Upper Cuzco sat apart front Lower
Cuzco. In the month corresponding to August they had a celebrated
feast, the object of which was to drive out all evil from the
land. We read: “All the people of Cuzco came out, . . . richly
dressed, sat down on benches, each man according to the rank he
held, those of the Upper Cuzco being on one side, and those of
Lower Cuzco on the other.” And of another feast we read: “They
brought out the embalmed (?) bodies of the dead Incas, placing
those who had belonged to Upper Cuzco on the side where that
lineage was stationed, and the same with those of Lower Cuzco.”
Other examples could be given, but this point is well
established. In games this same division was observed, since we
read that in the month of December, “on the first day of the
month, those who had been armed as knights—as well those of the
lineage of Upper Cuzco as those of Lower Cuzco—came out into the
square with slings in their hands, . . . and the youths of Upper
Cuzco hurled against those of Lower Cuzco.” We may therefore
consider it well established that the Incas were a tribe of
Indians having two phratries.

Let us now see how the matter stands in regard to gens. This
division follows almost as a matter of course, but it is well to
see what separate grounds exist for the assertion. Garcillasso,
in his description of Cuzco, after a reference to the division
into Upper and Lower Cuzco, tells us further that it was divided
into twelve wards. Mr. Squier gives us a map of the ancient city.
From this we see that the twelve wards were arranged in an
irregular oval around the principal square. Seven of them
belonged to the division of Upper Cuzco, the other five to Lower
Cuzco.

This division is utterly unintelligible to us, unless we suppose
them to be subdivisions of the phratries. It makes no difference
what name we bestow upon them, in effect they can be nothing else
than gentes. As to the number of them, it is well to notice a
coincidence in the statement of an Indian writer, Salcamayhua.27
On a certain very important occasion there were assembled “_all_
the councilors. The governor entered the chamber, where _twelve_
grave councilors were assembled.”28 The most reasonable
explanation that can be given for the number twelve is that each
gens had one representative in the council. The Incas are thus
seen to be very probably, at least, no exception to the general
rule of Indian tribes.

From our present standpoint what can we learn as to their
government? It is, of course, well known what the position of the
early writers on this subject is. They all agree that the
government of the Incas was a monarchy of the strictest type. We
have seen what a wonderful empire they bestowed on the Mexicans.
The Peruvian Empire is painted in still brighter colors. Modern
writers have not allowed the early accounts to suffer by
repetition. Rivero uses the following language: “The monarchs of
Peru, . . . uniting the legislative and executive power, the
supreme command in war, absolute sovereignty in peace, and a
venerated high-priesthood in religious feasts, . . . exercised
the highest power ever known to man.”29 Even so cautious a writer
as Mr. Squier speaks of the Incas as ruling “the most thoroughly
organized, most wisely administered, and most extensive empire of
aboriginal America.”30

It is freely admitted that there is much that is indeed wonderful
in the culture of the Incas; but it has, undoubtedly been greatly
exaggerated. To deal with this question as it should be would
require an entire volume of itself, and would require far more
extensive research than the writer has been able to make, or is,
indeed, prepared to make. It will do no harm to see what we can
learn by comparing the statements of some of the early writers
with what we have now learned of Indian society.

Let us first inquire as to the council. There is no question as
to the existence of a council. Garcillasso and all the early
writers refer to it in an accidental sort of way. To show the
force of this statement, we will give a few quotations.
Garcillasso, speaking of the movements of the Inca Viracocha,
says: “Having passed some years in making journeys, he returned
to Cuzco, where, with the advice of his councilors, he resolved
on war.” And, in another place: “Having consulted with his
council” he assembled his army. Talking about the son of the
foregoing, he says: “In fine, this king, with the advice of his
council, made many laws, rules, ordinances,” etc.31 In the
foregoing we are made aware of the existence of a council, but
are not told as to its size or powers. Each gens would of course
be represented in the council. We have spoken in one place of the
number twelve. Mr. Bandelier tells us that the council consisted
of sixteen members.32 As to its power we are also left in the
dark; but, judging from what we have learned of the council among
the Mexicans and Indian tribes of the North, who can doubt but
that it was the supreme governing body?33

The more we study this question, the more points of resemblance
we would find with the social organization of the Mexicans. The
tenure of land was of course the same, as we learn from the
report of Ondegardo—some differences may have occurred in regard
to tribute.

The Mexicans, we must remember, were at the head of a
confederacy, and the tribute was brought to Mexico to be divided
among the three tribes. The Incas were the only tribe, in the
case of Peru, having supreme power. Having no one to suit but
themselves, they introduced some new features. The tribute,
instead of being all brought to Cuzco, seems to have been, at
least a portion of it, stowed away in storehouses located at
places most convenient for the Incas. Cieza De Leon says: “The
Incas . . . formed many depots full of all things necessary for
their troops. In some of these depots there were lances; in
others, darts; and in others, sandals: and so, one with another,
arms and articles of clothing which these people used, besides
stores of food. Thus, when a chief was lodged in one of these
depots with his troops, there was nothing, from the most trifling
to the most important article, with which they were not
supplied.”34 This tribute was gathered by regular
tribute-gatherers. As in the case of Mexico, these appear in
history as governors. Ondegardo says they left “Cuzco every year,
and returned in February, . . . bringing with them the tribute of
the whole empire.”

As a rule, the Incas did not interfere with the customs of the
tribes they had conquered. Garcillasso says: “Excepting a few
alterations that were necessary for the welfare of the whole
empire, all the other laws and customs of the conquered province
were retained without any change.” In the main, all they wished
for was tribute. Yet they seem to have had some idea of a higher
policy than that. They are credited with carrying out measures
which would certainly tend to bring the tribes into a close
union. Mr. Squier remarks: “The efforts of the Incas to
assimilate the families that were brought within their empire, by
force or alliance—in respect to language, religion, and modes of
life—were powerful and well-directed.”35 This was a step ahead of
any thing that can be said of the Mexicans.

In the matter of language, it is said they made persistent
efforts to have the conquered tribes learn their own language. De
Leon tells us that it was a law throughout the kingdom that this
language should be used—“fathers were punished if they neglected
to teach it to their children in their childhood.” How much we
are to believe of this account is doubtful. Mr. Markham has shown
us that the languages of all the interior tribes were related. We
know how difficult it is to compel a conquered people by law to
learn a foreign language. William the Conqueror made an
unsuccessful attempt to compel the Anglo-saxons to learn
French—it ended by his followers learning English. Are we to
believe that a tribe of Peruvian Indians were successful in
spreading their language over a wide extent of territory in the
course of a few generations?

Burial Towers.

What is considered as the great stroke of policy on the part of
the Incas, was their system of colonies. On this point De Leon
tells us: “As soon as a province was conquered, ten or twelve
thousand men were ordered to go there with their wives; but they
were always sent to a country where the climate resembled that
from whence they came. If they were natives of a cold province,
they were sent to a cold one; and if they came from a warm
province, they went to a warm one. These people were called
mitimaes—which means Indians who have come from one country and
gone to another.” On this we might remark, that the Incas did not
always show such discriminating care where they sent the exiles,
since Mr. Markham tells us that the “descendants of colonists on
the coasts of Peru (a warm climate, notice) still retain
traditions concerning the villages in the Andes (a cold
province), whence their ancestors were transported.”

We will only refer to the so-called royal roads of Peru. Humboldt
observed them in Northern Peru, and speaks in high praise of
them. Many of the early writers mention them. De Leon gives us a
really wonderful account. Modern travelers have not been so
fortunate in finding their remains. Mr. Squier does not mention
them. Mr. Hutchinson searched at every place along the coast, and
could find no trace of such works. The northern part of Peru,
where Humboldt saw them, was almost the last section to be
conquered by the Incas. It is singular that they should have been
in such a hurry to build roads in that section, when the other
parts of their territory were destitute of them.

We are now prepared to inquire as to what remains of this ancient
people have come down to us; and in studying these ruins we must
keep constantly in mind the social organization of Indian
tribes.36 We notice on the map, at about 8° south latitude, a
place marked Truxillo. It is situated nearly two miles from the
sea, in the valley of the Chimu. Its port is the town of
Huanchaco, a dilapidated village of a few hundred houses, about
ten miles further north. Truxillo was founded in 1535 by
Francisco Pizarro, and was once a place of considerable
importance, but at present it is probably most noted for the
famous ruins located near it. Several of the fertile coast
valleys that we have previously described, here unite;
consequently this was a place of great importance to the coast
tribes. The ruins here are among the most remarkable in Peru. The
road from Huanchaco to Truxillo passes directly through the field
of ruins.

Palace.

Mr. Squier tells us that the ruins “consist of a wilderness of
walls, forming great inclosures, each containing a labyrinth of
ruined dwellings and other edifices.” As our space is limited, we
will describe but one of these inclosed spaces. This is a view of
what is usually called a palace, but this certainly is an absurd
name. The inclosure contains some thirty-two acres; the walls
surrounding it are double, and sufficiently heavy to resist field
artillery. At the base the walls, in some cases, are fifteen feet
thick, gradually diminishing toward the top, where they are not
more than three feet thick. They vary in height, the highest
ranging from thirty to forty feet high. In order to give a clear
idea of these walls, we introduce this cut, which gives us a
section of the walls. The materials of which they are built is
adobe.

Section of Palace Wall.

Within this inclosure we notice three open places, or courts, a
number of smaller cross-walls dividing the remaining space into a
number of small courts. Around each of these courts, generally on
three sides, are the ruins of houses. All in the interior of the
large inclosures is so far gone in ruins that we can with
difficulty make out the plan. Inclosures, such as we have
described here, are the principal features of the Chimu ruins.
Mr. Squier speaks of one three or four times the size of this
one. With our present knowledge we are justified in concluding
that Chimu was the head-quarters of a powerful tribe. We are
surely justified in assuming further that each of these great
inclosed squares, containing upwards of thirty, forty, and even
fifty acres, was the home of a gens—their fortified place.

Of the houses, Mr. Squier says: “Around each court the dwellings
of the ancient inhabitants are grouped with the utmost
regularity. . . . Some are small, as if for watchmen or people on
guard; others are relatively spacious, reaching the dimensions of
twenty-five by fifteen feet inside the walls. These walls are
usually about three feet thick, and about twelve feet high. The
roofs were not flat, but, as shown by the gables of the various
buildings, sharply pitched, so that, although rain may not have
been frequent, it was, nevertheless, necessary to provide for its
occurrence. Each apartment was completely separated from the next
by partitions reaching to the very peak of the general roof.
There are no traces of windows, and light and air were admitted
into the apartment only by the door.”

On one side, at least, the whole area of the city was protected
by a heavy wall, several miles of which were still standing at
the time of Mr. Squier’s visit. At various places along this
wall, cross-walls extended inward, thus inclosing great areas
which have never been built over, and which show all evidence of
ancient cultivation. We notice, near the upper end of this
inclosure, a court, occupied by a mound. This is known as a
_huaca,_ which calls for some explanation. It seems that the
general name among all the Peruvian people, for a sacred object,
is huaca. Being a very superstitious people, this name is applied
to a great variety of purposes, amongst others, to these great
artificial mounds, the majority of which are probably burial
mounds. The construction of many of these mounds is very
singular. It seems as if they were a large collection of rooms,
each one of which was filled with clay or adobe. In some of these
chambers, probably, treasures are concealed. One very celebrated
huaca, at Chimu, was found to contain an enormous amount of gold
vessels.

Ornamentation on Walls.

We must not forget to notice the arts of the Chimu people. The
walls of the inner edifices were often ornamented as is seen in
the following cut, of which the upper one is stucco-work and the
lower one is in relief. Adobe bricks are allowed to project out,
forming the ornamental design. Other ornaments of stucco-work
were observed. The second figure on this page gives us an idea of
this style of ornaments. As an evidence of how the climate of
Peru preserves ruins, we would mention that, though this last
stucco-work has been exposed to the elements for probably several
centuries, yet it is still apparently perfect.

Adobe Ornament.

The Chimu people were certainly very expert workmen in gold and
silver. De Leon asserts that, when the Incas conquered them, they
took to Cuzco many of the artisans of the country, “because they
were very expert in the working of metals, and the fashioning of
jewels and vases in gold and silver.” In the cut following we
have two vases—the smaller one of gold, the larger of silver. The
material is very thin, and the ornaments are produced by
hammering from the inside.

Gold and Silver Vases. Bronze Knives and Tweezers.

Besides such works as just described they had the art of casting
representations of men, animals, and reptiles in silver—sometimes
hollow, sometimes solid. They even cast more complex objects. Mr.
Squier says he has one “representing three figures—one of a man,
and two women, in a forest. It rises from a circular base about
six inches in diameter, and weighs forty-eight and a half ounces.
It is solid throughout—or, rather, is cast in a single piece, and
rings, when struck, like a bell.” The trees, he says, are well
represented, their branches spreading in every direction. The
human figures are also well proportioned, and full of action.
They also knew how to manufacture bronze. Many agricultural
implements are found, not only at Chimu, but all along the coast.
In the preceding cut we have bronze knives and tweezers—also, a
war-club of the same material.

Water-jar.
Water-jars from Ancon.

All the coast tribes of Peru excelled in the manufacture of
pottery. Mr. Squier tells us that, in this sort of work we find
“almost every combination of regular or geometrical figures”—men,
birds, animals, fishes, etc., are reproduced in earthenware. In
this cut we have one of the many forms. Notice the serpent
emblem.