The second major source of information about the Incas is archaeology, a set of techniques and procedures for reconstructing past cultures on the basis of their remains. Archaeologists carefully dig up the tools, food remains, houses, and other aspects of past societies, then use many kinds of analyses to evaluate and interpret the remains. This information is fundamentally different from the kind provided by historical documents, because it provides details about the uses of different sites, the tools they used, how their towns were laid out, and where people conducted various activities.
Archaeology too has drawbacks. First, not all of a society’s activities leave objects that can be discovered later. For example, religious beliefs, languages, and marriage patterns do not necessarily leave any remains. Second, of the social activities for which objects or structures do remain, nature has a tendency to destroy many that are not made of durable materials. It is rare to find objects of wood, bone, cloth, or animal fibers because they decompose. (In the case of Peru and Chile, the dry coast actually preserves many of these objects, allowing archaeologists to recover much more than in other areas of the world. In contrast, many objects are destroyed by natural processes in the wet highlands.) Third, humans themselves sometimes destroy the remains of past cultures, both deliberately and accidentally. This problem is the focus of the final chapter of the book.
In sum, using both historical records and archaeology enables us to gain a more complete picture of the Incas than either source can provide alone. Archaeology can verify and amplify the historical accounts, and documents can provide information not visible in the archaeological record. For example, historical records indicate that a particular group of natives from Andamarca, a region in central Peru, served as the official people who carried the Inca king in a litter and that this was the only service they provided to the empire. Archaeologists would never be able to “dig up” or confirm this information about the Andamarcans as litter bearers; yet archaeological research has indicated that the Andamarcans also produced food for the empire, a fact not recorded in the historical documents (Schreiber 1993).
Unfortunately, there are few historical documents about the people who lived before the Incas. Therefore, all our information about earlier cultures must come from archaeology. With careful study and interpretation, however, much can be inferred about these societies.
Members of the Inca nobility using the Andean footplow for breaking up soil prior to planting.
World History
