Andean+Fortifications

Fortifications and Garrisons  ﻿ ﻿﻿ >The Inca are very well known for their fortified stone structures that can be found all over Peru and for their very warlike disposition. One of the reasons the Inca Empire expanded so rapidly was the Inca had a very unique royal system where when one Sapa Inca (or king) would step down he would keep his wealth and the next Sapa Inca would come into power with no inheritance. The New ruler was then forced to expand the empire and conquer other neighboring groups in order to acquire wealth and power. This coupled with a complex political structure with a number of internal conflicts and civil wars forced the Inca to create large fortified complexes which acted as defensive structures but also military staging points for further conquest.{4} >A great example of this is the site of Sacsayhuman which D'altroy notes played a very important role in colonial wars but still may have only been partially designed as a fortification. Sacsayhuman

** ﻿Other Reasons for Andean Fortifications ** ** ﻿> ﻿**Some think that most of the fortifications were originally designed as either terracing in the steep rocky conditions or as walls to enclose private or secret areas and then became fortifications in later periods{4}.An example of this would be the site of Macchu Picchu which was most likely a private estate or religious center that was never discovered by the Spanish. >Machu Picchu is situated at the top of a very steep and high mountain where one side is a sheer face. Defensively this site is almost perfect but was most likely a royal estate for the Inca ruler Pachacuti. {4} = Map of Inca Fortifications  = {4}

>Most of the forts are located in the North near Ecuador and in the South near Bolivia and Argentina. D'altroy attributes this to the later expansion of the Inca Empire and the need to control populations further away from the Inca heartland. These forts probably protected a supply line of trade goods and tariffs being sent from different areas to the Inca capital.{4}





> The two images above are of forts located outside of the modern city of Quito, Ecuador. These Forts were probably built by the locals here as defensive forts against an Inca invasion. The forts were later captured by the Incas and were used by them as garrisons in the hostile colonial area.{4} The Inca probably used these forts to have a military presence in conquered lands, a way of reminding the conquered people that the Inca had control over them.

Here is a link to a Wiki that has information about other Peruvian fortifications and also examines other cultures in Peru who did not rely on warfare as heavily as the Inca. Link

Andean Weaponry