ARKY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Digging Stick, Pastoralism
o Can look at marks on the bones, pot-polish
▪ Meat and bone into a pot and boiled
▪ Calcium showed that the bones were boiled due to their certain fractures
o Great pyramid of Cholula, had mass burials that had evidence of cut marks, decapitated
the head in polychrome bowl, did not want to claim cannibalism instead the it was
rituals
• Conclusion
o Cannibalism in the eye of the beholder
o Or the seasoned taste
• Cuzco had relatively small population with the most distributed across the hinterland
• Cuzco is often called an empty ceremonial center and many commoners lived there
• Farming and pastoralism were major components of Inca economy
• Also had specialized artisans
• Paid taxes to state in form of labor exchange for security and leadership
• There was curvy labor that was used to maintain the state
o It was organized by the head of the household
o There was means to know how many households were in a given district
• Even though it was based on the male household it can be distributed labor
o Amongst the entire household
o This was on top of agriculture and pastoralism
o It was also distributed throughout the year
• State census used to administer labor demands
o Typically, two months per year per household
• Tribute
• State administers, and other employees had reduced tax demands but instead lived off of a
tribute from the commoners
• State and Sun farms produced food, chicha, textiles and other goods for the employees
• State farm at cochabamps used 14,000 laborers to produce maize for Inca armies
• Rain storage at Cotapachi with 2400 storehouses
• Grain storage facilities
o Well constructed using tribute labor, to maintain the large amounts of the storage
• Different communities sending tributes to the Aztec and this was not through commodities like
gold
• Sun farms
o Used for coca productions as offering to gods
o Many medicinal used for coca
o Brought to the inca by sun god Inti
o Or by Manco Capac and Mama Okello founders of Inca Empire
• Agricultural cycles
o Farming considered a metaphor for warfare in which the earth was disemboweled
before platin
o Beginning of planting season begun by highest noble present using a golden digging stick
and with nobel women planting seeds
o Prayers and sacrifices to insurer adequate water and good condition
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