Lost City of the Incas (Phoenix Press) (11 page)

However, it is reasonably certain that the Inca builders used powerful little bronze crow-bars to get those ashlars in place which were too heavy to be lifted by hand. Called
champis
, these bars were sufficiently strong to be used in adjusting blocks of stone weighing 10 or 20 tons. In a tensile test, made under the direction of Professor Matthewson, an old Inca
champi
of poor quality showed an ultimate strength of 28,000 pounds to the square inch. We found by experiment with a new bronze crow-bar of the same composition that when hardened by methods known to the Inca metallurgists it had still greater strength. The Incas could have used their crow-bars for prying into place granite blocks weighing 20 tons without damaging the
champis
.

Inca bronze included not only such tools as axes, knives, chisels, and crow-bars but also such domestic utensils as tweezers, shawl-pins, and large needles, as well as such articles of adornment as rings, bracelets, spangles, and bells. They even made ear spoons, the ends of whose handles were often decorated with figures of humming birds.

Perhaps the commonest bronze articles made by the Incas were the shawl-pins. Early drawings made by the Spanish conquerors show that these pins were always used for fastening the front of the shoulder covering. This custom is still common in the Andes, and I have noticed in many cases that the head of the shawl-pin is made like a spoon. The Incas do not appear to have been familiar with spoons. The heads of their shawl-pins, which vary in length from 3 inches to 9 inches, are generally flat and shaped like a half-moon. They were beaten very thin, so that the edges were fairly sharp and appear to have been used for cutting purposes. As the Inca women were frequently occupied in spinning yarn by means of a hand spindle, or in weaving textiles, they would have found such little knives very useful.

They made bronze mirrors similar to those found in ancient Egyptian tombs. They even succeeded in making a concave bronze mirror which, when polished, enabled the rays of the sun to be concentrated on a bit of cotton sufficiently to set it on fire. The skill of the Inca metallurgists is immensely impressive and one wonders how long it took them to learn the art.

They also made bronze bodkins or large needles with eyes sufficiently large to permit them to carry a fairly stout cord. Sometimes these eyes were made by flattening the head to a narrow strip, drawing this under, laying it against the shaft of the bodkin and hammering enough of the sides on to it to secure it. This process would readily have been accomplished by the use of one of the little braziers.

They made little bronze tweezers intended to take the place of the modern razor. Highland Indians seldom have any hair on their faces. The Incas were probably anxious to remove any stray hairs that did appear. The custom of pulling out undesired facial hairs by means of tweezers was known among the tribes of Micronesia in the Gilbert Islands before it was thought of in New York or Paris. It is evident to the observer of manners and customs that the desire for beauty aids is not new.

The Incas were fortunate in having as their subjects a hardworking race, accustomed to constant effort. Today one may encounter lazy Quichua men, but one never sees Quichua women idle. While tending flocks or walking along the road they are almost always winding or spinning yarn. One often finds them engaged in the manufacture of shawls, girdles,
ponchos
, and blankets on hand looms. Even the men and older children are sometimes so occupied.

As a matter of fact, ancient Andean weaving, as developed by the Incas, was one of the greatest textile arts the world has ever seen. We depend on silk and linen for our finest textiles. They did not know of the silkworm or of the flax plant. They had cotton and the soft wool of the alpaca but they also used the
extremely fine and rare wool of the
vicuña
, the smallest American camel. They never took the trouble to domesticate it. They depended on what would be caught by the Inca hunters after being rounded up in huge annual drives.

Tourists in Peru are always anxious to secure rugs made of
vicuña
skins but these little animals have now become so scarce as to be protected. In the days of the Incas
vicuña
wool seems to have been reserved for the rulers and the nobles.

Examples of early Peruvian textiles amaze the beholder. Fine specimens may be seen in various museums of art in Boston, New York, and Washington. They are as worthy of admiration as the finest specimens of Egyptian or Chinese weaving. The inventiveness and resourcefulness of the Peruvian weavers created materials which indicate as long a period of artistic development as that of Egypt or China. These rare and beautiful stuffs which have been found in the coastal cemeteries of Peru, where they have been preserved by the dry desert air and the absence of rainfall, prove to the students of the history of art the very great age of Inca civilization. And none of it was borrowed from Asia.

We are told that the finest textiles were made in the convents connected with the Temples of the Sun, by the Chosen Women, sometimes called the Virgins of the Sun, who were carefully trained in this difficult art. Some of their products are as fine and soft as the finest silk.

No one knows the origin of the people over whom the Incas ruled. Physical anthropologists assure us that the bony structure of the American Indian is closely related to that of the people of North East Siberia. However, that does not prove that the migration went from Asia to America any more than it proves that the people of Eastern Asia came from America. Whenever that migration took place, and in whichever direction, it happened so many thousands of years ago that archaeological evidence, as distinct from anthropological, is
lacking. In other words, there appears to be no resemblance between the culture of North Eastern Asia and Central South America. The facts that wheat, one of the most valuable crops in the world, was developed in Asia and was unknown in America, and that similar ignorance prevailed in Asia regarding two other enormously important crops, potatoes and maize, make it fairly certain that the migration took place many thousands of years ago. This appears to be borne out also by the recent discovery in North America of the remains of glacial man, whose age is estimated to be about 20,000 years.

The Incas took such trouble to spread the Quichua language wherever they went that it is fair to assume that they descended from a Quichua tribe. The Quichuas are brown in colour. Their hair is straight and black. Grey hair is seldom seen. It is still the custom among the men in certain localities to wear their hair long and braided. Beards are very rare and when they occur are extremely sparse. Bearded Indians are almost certain to give signs of traces of Spanish blood.

Among the Quichuas, bald heads are very rare. Their teeth seem to be more enduring than ours. Throughout the Andes the frequency of well-preserved teeth is noteworthy, except on sugar plantations where there is opportunity to indulge freely in crude brown sugar nibbled from cakes or mixed with parched corn and eaten as a convenient ration. Since the Incas did not know how to make sugar, it is fair to assume that they had good teeth and were not troubled by having to chew the hard kernels of their favourite parched corn.

The Quichua face is broad and short. Freckles are not common, although a large proportion of the mountain Indians are pock-marked. Asiatic smallpox was probably not known in the Andes in prehistoric times. On the other hand, there is abundant evidence, both in prehistoric tombs and in the vivid records of coastal pottery, that syphilis did not come from the Old World, but was an aboriginal disease. In fact, it was probably taken from America to the Mediterranean by the sailors of the early discoverers and explorers. It was the worst gift the New
World gave to the Old World in exchange for the ‘benefits’ of European culture.

There is no evidence that the Incas were fat. One hardly ever sees a fat mountain Indian today. It is difficult to tell whether this is a racial characteristic or due to the necessity of hard exercise in the mountains. Certainly the abundant use of white potatoes is supposed to be fattening. The diet of the Incas did not contain much meat, since both llamas and alpacas were far too useful to be used as food, except in the case of animals that died of old age.

Although the Peruvian highlander made the best use he could of the llama, he was never able to develop its slender legs and weak back sufficiently to use it for loads weighing more than one hundred pounds. Consequently, for the carrying of heavy burdens he has had to depend on himself. As a result it is not surprising that while his arms are poorly developed his shoulders are broader, his back muscles stronger, and the calves of his legs larger and more powerful than those of almost any other race.

Among the Incas, practically every man was married at least once. Polygamy was general among the upper classes and was regarded as a desirable state for those who could afford it. The Inca rulers, the nobles and distinguished military leaders, were awarded concubines. They were usually taken from one of the national boarding schools or convents, where attractive young girls or Chosen Women, selected annually from all over the empire, were trained.

These Chosen Women, whose lives were consecrated to the service of the sun, his representatives, the Incas, and his priests, lived in sanctuaries which were scattered throughout the Inca Empire. It was deemed a great honour to a newly conquered province for the Inca to establish one within its borders.

According to the Spanish conquerors, the most important convent was at Cuzco adjoining the Temple of the Sun. Other women were forbidden to enter that holy place. Men were not
allowed in the royal boarding schools. The most beautiful and best born maidens in each province appear to have been selected when eight or nine years old. They were supervised by older women who had lived for years in the convents. The girls learned not only to weave skilfully the clothing worn by the nobles as well as the beautiful robes and elaborate hangings used on state occasions, but were also taught the preparation of special foods and beverages used in great ceremonials. Apparently the girls were kept in the convents until they were about sixteen years of age, when they were divided into three classes based on their degree of beauty. Probably the most beautiful and highly born became concubines of the Inca Emperor himself. It is believed that some were selected to be sacrificed in honour of the sun, or at all events, to be interned for life in one of the convents, where they could act also as temple attendants and as instructors of the Chosen Girls. A third group seems to have been given by the emperor as wives to nobles or military captains whom he wished particularly to favour.

It was natural that the most desirable girls should be set aside for the worship of the sun, whom the Incas regarded as a benevolent and life-giving god. In the Andes, one is rarely comfortable except when the sun is shining. It is not surprising, therefore, that the worship of the sun involved propitiation, supplication, and thanksgiving. It was important that the sun god should be pleased in every way possible and that the priests should be served by the most attractive young women of the kingdom.

Our knowledge of the Chosen Women, or Virgins of the Sun, is derived, in part, from the writings of Cieza de Leon, the greatest and most illustrious of the contemporary historians of the period of conquest. He says that at the doors of the convents porters were stationed to keep guard over the virgins, many of whom were of noble birth, besides being beautiful and charming. He says that if one of them had any connection with a man she was killed by being buried alive and the same penalty was suffered by her paramour.

One of his contemporaries, Polo de Ondegardo, says that the convents were called
aclla-huasi
, meaning ‘the house of the
Chosen Ones’. They were selected by the governors in the provinces, who had the power to choose girls of the proper age without limit as to the number chosen. Their teachers were called
mama-cunas
. The number of women set apart for this purpose was very great and their parents could not excuse or redeem them under any circumstances. Estates were set apart for the support of the convents. He says, further, that great quantities of the cloth made in the convents were distributed among the Inca’s favourite soldiers and given to his relations and attendants. Also enormous quantities were deposited in storehouses to be used as needed.

The religion of ancient peoples, as well as their manners and customs, depended, in large measure, on the climate of the region where they lived. If it was a warm region where the sun was oppressively hot in the middle of the day and the nights were pleasant and cool, there was less temptation to worship the sun. On the other hand, there was a marked tendency to worship the stars and the moon. Familiarity with these heavenly bodies led to that knowledge of astronomy, and even astrology, which is so marked a feature of Arabian civilization as well as of the Mayas in Central America.

On the other hand, in the high Andes, on the Peruvian plateau, where the rarefied atmosphere does not retain the sun’s heat and the nights are bitterly cold, it is not surprising that little attention was paid to the stars, while the most profound worship was accorded the sun. Other natural phenomena such as thunder and lightning, high mountains, dangerous precipices, and waterfalls, came within their ken and naturally were propitiated by offerings and a certain amount of worship so as to protect human beings from harm.