Osgood Hardy

“ The ruins at Machu Picchu (mä-choo peek ́-choo) and in that vicinity are remarkable because windows are quite common in them. As the Incas had not evolved the arch, their doors, windows and niches were crowned with a lintel stone, in many cases necessarily a huge affair. Among the most interesting features of an Inca residence are these niches, probably used for shelves, perhaps for shrines, although if for that purpose there would seem to be more of them than necessary in most houses.
The fineness of the stonework is, of course, the most remarkable characteristic of the Incas’ architecture. ”

“ One of the greatest aids to the Incas in extending their domains was their abundant food supply: the result, largely, of the great progress they had made along agricultural lines. Although Peru is a very mountainous country, by taking advantage of every available inch of fertile ground where the climate permitted the raising of crops, they were able to carry on a system of agriculture which, in the variety of products yielded, seems truly marvelous. ”

“ It is true that a great deal of labor was expended on the wonderful palaces of their rulers. Each successive Inca thought it necessary to rear an edifice for himself. But the greater part was employed for the benefit of the country as a whole, in irrigation and other projects. Water was brought many miles, and regions which today are desolate through the Spaniards’ failure to keep in repair the ditches and canals were flourishing agricultural communities in the days of the Incas. ”

“ The first step was the introduction of the worship of the Sun. No disrespect was shown to the local gods, but an acceptance of the priority of the Sun was always enforced. Often-times the peoples’ own gods were treated as hostages and removed to Cuzco. The Inca system of government was, of course, always imposed. Land was cultivated according to the well-regulated schemes of the Incas, which included fertilization, crop rotation, and careful supervision to see that the desired amount of acreage was devoted to each product. ”

“ Although early historians attempted to give the Incas themselves the credit for the wonderful structures to be found in Peru, it is generally believed today that most of the megalithic remains, such as Tiahuanaco, Sacsahuaman and Ollantaytambo, are the work of a people living many centuries before the Incas, whose own traditions carry them back only about 400 years prior to the coming of the Spaniards. However that may be, the ability to make equally fine structures evidently existed down to Spanish times, although in later years such work became less and less common. ”

“ Hardy’s account of the Incas, Colonel Bingham writes to The Mentor as follows:
“Within the confines of the ancient Inca empire, the archeologist can find a field for work, which, in the beauty of its natural surroundings, and the healthfulness of its climate, together with the interest lent by the present-day inhabitants, is equal, if not superior to, any other part of the earth’s surface. ”

“ Although pacific by nature, the Incas built up their vast empire by conquest. Not one reign lacked great military campaigns, and in all of them the necessity of introducing the worship of the Sun gave rulers a pretext as plausible as the followers of Mahomet had for their great wars. ”

“ The priestly historians always characterize it as extremely vile; but those of Inca ancestry insist that it was remarkably pure and spiritual, consisting of only one true worship, that of the Sun. Only those that have experienced life in the Peruvian highlands and have endured the enervation of its cold altitudes can realize how certainly must the early peoples have turned to the worship of that force which alone makes life endurable or possible on the Peruvian plateau. ”

“ Because of this despotism, which placed all the labor in the hands of the state, the Incas were able to achieve marvels in the way of building, road-making, irrigation works, and agricultural engineering. Inherently an agricultural people, the greatest efforts of the ancient Peruvians seem to have been exerted, not in building tombs for the dead, as did the Egyptians, but in making conditions better for the living. ”

“ The coca plant (Erythroxylon) was widely cultivated, but in the days of the Incas, if we are to believe the historians, its use was regulated by the government. Commonly used today by their modern descendants, it is alcohol’s most potent aid in the degradation of the Peruvian Indian.
We must not think, however, that the Incas were vegetarians. Although they lacked sheep, hogs and cattle, in the llama (lyämä) and alpaca they had excellent meat, as well as animals to provide them with wool, and in the case of the llama, a serviceable pack animal. ”

“ A very important part of the work of modern archeology lies in identifying the location of the cities and towns which have a place in Inca tradition and history. The finding of the first and last home of the Incas by Colonel Bingham’s expeditions is only the beginning of a great deal of similar work which awaits the archeologist in Peru. ”

“ The most important products are the maize and the potato, one world crop of which is today more valuable than all the gold the conquering Spaniards were able to take out of the country. The cultivation of corn goes very far back, for abundant specimens have been found in ancient graves, and the type of maize that furnishes the bulk of the Peruvian crop is peculiar to that region. ”

“ Formerly it was thought that the larger terraces were chiefly for defensive purposes; but the fact that these, as well as those more plainly agricultural in character, show the underlying strata of stones to be covered with fine agricultural soils that must have been brought from a distance, would indicate, according to some of our scientists, that these also were used to produce crops. The importance attached to agriculture can be understood from the fact that the majority of the terraces equal in fineness of masonry even the palaces of the Incas. ”

“ Such excellent means of communication existed between the capital at Cuzco and the coast, that the Incas were kept constantly supplied with fresh fish.
The prevalence of both fishing and hunting is attested by the many depictions of these industries found on ceramic art objects which have been encountered by the archeologists. Hunting was carried on to such an extent, and the country in general was so intensively cultivated, that the Peruvian highlands today have less to offer the nimrod than any other section of the world equally uninhabited and desolate. ”

“ There is a great uniformity in Inca architecture. In the highlands the edifices are usually built of porphyry or granite, and in the coastal regions more frequently of brick. The walls often have a thickness of several feet, but are rather low, seldom attaining more than ten or twelve feet in height. The apartments seldom open into each other—usually onto a court. The doors, which ordinarily provide the only entrance for light, are like the Egyptian, narrower at the top. ”

“ No situation at all plausible has ever been suggested for this mythical locality. Granting that Machu Picchu is Tampu-tocco, the presence of two distinct cultures and skeleton remains, chiefly of women and effeminate men, would seem to indicate that on his retreat to Vitcos the Inca Manco made use of the wonderfully concealed first home of the Incas to provide safe retirement for the priests and priestesses of the Sun. ”

“ So, in 1911, he set off to Peru, with a party of six, his objects being to hunt for “Vitcos” (the name of the last home of the Incas) and to make an ascent of Corropuna, reputed to be a rival of Aconcagua for the honor of being the highest mountain in South America. The expedition was very successful. Corropuna was scaled, and found to be somewhat lower than Aconcagua. Vitcos was found at Rosaspata and not at Choqquequirau. The reputed bottomless lake of Parinaccochas was found to be no more than four feet in depth, and, best of all, Machu Picchu was discovered. ”

“ The modern Indians—in fact, many of the upper class of Peruvians—prefer to explain it by magical methods, such as softening the rocks by rubbing them with the juice of some plant or fruit. Only the combined labor of hundreds of people, understanding the lever and the inclined plane, could have moved some of the huge rocks that form many of the walls. ”

“ Particularly beautiful are some of their circular structures, such as the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco.
It is probable that only the temples and palaces of the rulers were so well built, and that the common people lived in houses of mud and stone. One of the most remarkable structures in Peru, the temple of Uiraccocha (u-eer-äk-ko ́-chä) at Racche (räk ́-chay) , shows a combination of fine stonework, and mud and stone. ”

“ RUINS OF THE GREAT INCA TEMPLE OF VIRACCOCHA NEAR SICUANI, PERU
THE INCAS
The Inca Sovereigns TWO
The Inca sovereigns about whom tradition tells us enough so that they may be considered historical personages are twelve in number. The first of these, Sinchi Rocca (seen ́-chee rok-kä) , or Rocca the Great, was the first ruler after the return of the Incas to Cuzco (coos ́-ko) at the close of their long exile in Tampu-tocco (täm-poo-tok ́-ko) . He reigned from 1134-1197, according to the chronology of Dr. ”

“ VI, a ruler of peoples on the east, south and west and subject tribes, had risen in revolt. The invaders ultimately retired, but the power of Cuzco was broken, and the ruler slain. The city was left to the priests, and the inhabitants, under a new sovereign, took refuge at Tampu-tocco, where some twenty-four princes ruled in succession. ”

“ Although they were unfamiliar with refined methods of heat treatment, and so were compelled to sacrifice extra hardness and strength by increasing the tin content, they had learned the art of cold working, and produced many kinds of bronze implements. ”