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. Alcoholic beverages were used, of course, but the government saw to it that their manufacture did not affect other industries. _Chica_ (chee-cha) was made from both potatoes and maize, but the favorite brand was brewed from the _molle_ (mol-yay) berry. Then, as today, religious feasts provided the common people with an opportunity for debauchery, but under the Incas there was less of the consequent inebriety. PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 6, No 3, SERIAL No. 151 COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. [Illustration: SACSAHUAMAN, THE INCAS’ GREATEST FORTRESS, CUZCO, PERU] _THE INCAS_ _Inca Architecture_ FIVE Together with the excellence of their governmental system and the extent of their food supply, the architecture of the ancient inhabitants of the Peruvian plateau establishes their claim to fame. 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. 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. 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.