Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of PeruBingham, Hiram
History
Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru
Bingham, Hiram
Incas; Peru -- Antiquities; Peru -- Description and travel
nothing unusual about Montesinos' story. One has only to look at the
history of Spain itself to realize that royal bigotry and priestly
intolerance have often crushed new ideas and kept great nations from
making important advances.
Montesinos says further that Tupac Cauri established in Tampu-tocco
a kind of university where boys were taught the use of quipus, the
method of counting and the significance of the different colored
strings, while their fathers and older brothers were trained in
military exercises--in other words, practiced with the sling, the
bolas and the war-club; perhaps also with bows and arrows. Around the
name of Tupac Cauri, or Pachacuti VII, as he wished to be called,
is gathered the story of various intellectual movements which took
place in Tampu-tocco. Finally, there came a time when the skill and
military efficiency of the little kingdom rose to a high plane. The
ruler and his councilors, bearing in mind the tradition of their
ancestors who centuries before had dwelt in Cuzco, again determined to
make the attempt to reestablish themselves there. An earthquake, which
ruined many buildings in Cuzco, caused rivers to change their courses,
destroyed towns, and was followed by the outbreak of a disastrous
epidemic. The chiefs were obliged to give up their plans, although
in healthy Tampu-tocco there was no pestilence. Their kingdom became
more and more crowded. Every available square yard of arable land was
terraced and cultivated. The men were intelligent, well organized,
and accustomed to discipline, but they could not raise enough food
for their families; so, about 1300 A.D., they were forced to secure
arable land by conquest, under the leadership of the energetic ruler
of the day. His name was Manco Ccapac, generally called the first Inca,
the ruler for whom the Manco of 1536 was named.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account