The Materiality of Inka Domination: Landscape, Spectacle, Memory, and Ancestors

ACUTO, FÉLIX A.

Global Archaeology Theory: Contextual Voices and Contemporary Thoughts

Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2005; p. 211 - 235

In this paper, I will attempt an alternative interpretation of Inka domination. My hypothesis is that the Inka sought to transform Andean cosmology and social order, and impose their own worldview and ideology, locating themselves at the pinnacle of the new social order, but also representing the Inka as the true carriers of Andean traditions and the past, as the original people and ancestors of the world. Material culture was an integral part in the development of this symbolic aspect of Inka domination, especially in terms of the construction and reconstruction of new landscapes. With these ideas in mind, I will explore Inka spatiality or how the Inka re-organized the social space in the areas they conquered. I intend to demonstrate how the Inka sought to impose their worldview and legitimize their domination using the re-organization of the landscape and the appropriation of ritual spaces.