Lecture by Alfredo Thiermann

Apr 15, 2025

Storage and Rule in the Inca Empire

This class will explore the relationship between storage and governance, focusing on the role specific buildings played in the administration of the Inca Empire in the Andean region. Avoiding rigid distinctions between functional and representative structures, the lecture will examine series of building typologies (chullpas, kanchas, kallanka) and accounting techniques (khipus) that enabled the Inca Empire to govern vast territories and diverse communities while maintaining cultural and ecological heterogeneity.