﻿Vol. 
  2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  — 
  ROWE 
  231 
  

  

  also 
  Fejos, 
  1944.) 
  Kemains 
  of 
  Inca 
  roads 
  are 
  numerous 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  Andes. 
  As 
  the 
  Inca 
  had 
  no 
  wheeled 
  vehicles, 
  these 
  roads 
  were 
  

   designed 
  for 
  men 
  on 
  foot 
  and 
  for 
  llama 
  trains. 
  (See 
  also 
  Xerez, 
  1917, 
  

   pp. 
  22, 
  32; 
  Molina 
  of 
  Santiago, 
  1916, 
  pp. 
  128-130; 
  Cieza, 
  1880, 
  

   bk. 
  2, 
  ch. 
  15.) 
  

  

  At 
  intervals 
  along 
  the 
  roads, 
  the 
  Inca 
  built 
  groups 
  of 
  storehouses 
  

   and 
  shelters, 
  called 
  tampo 
  in 
  Quechua, 
  tambo 
  in 
  Spanish. 
  12 
  The 
  

   largest 
  and 
  best 
  furnished 
  tambos 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  towns 
  through 
  which 
  

   the 
  roads 
  passed, 
  and 
  these 
  were 
  called 
  "royal 
  tambos" 
  by 
  the 
  chroni- 
  

   clers. 
  Lesser 
  ones 
  were 
  built 
  at 
  intervals 
  of 
  a 
  convenient 
  day's 
  

   journey 
  between 
  the 
  royal 
  tambos, 
  and 
  were 
  called 
  "common 
  tambos." 
  

   The 
  roads 
  and 
  tambos 
  were 
  kept 
  in 
  repair 
  by 
  the 
  Indians 
  living 
  along 
  

   them 
  as 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  regular 
  mit'a 
  tax. 
  (Molina 
  of 
  Santiago, 
  1916, 
  

   p. 
  129; 
  Xerez, 
  1917, 
  p. 
  32; 
  Cobo, 
  1890-93, 
  bk. 
  12, 
  ch. 
  31.) 
  

  

  The 
  Inca 
  measured 
  road 
  distances 
  with 
  units 
  called 
  topo, 
  equiv- 
  

   alent 
  to 
  one 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  Spanish 
  leagues, 
  or 
  about 
  4% 
  miles 
  (7 
  km.) 
  

   (see 
  p. 
  324). 
  On 
  some 
  roads, 
  especially 
  south 
  of 
  Cuzco, 
  markers 
  

   like 
  milestones 
  were 
  set 
  up 
  at 
  every 
  topo 
  and 
  perhaps 
  every 
  half-TOPO 
  

   besides 
  (Cieza, 
  1880, 
  bk. 
  2, 
  ch. 
  15; 
  Molina 
  of 
  Santiago, 
  1916, 
  p. 
  129). 
  

  

  Post 
  service. 
  — 
  The 
  Inca 
  maintained 
  a 
  post 
  service 
  along 
  the 
  main 
  

   roads 
  to 
  relay 
  messages 
  back 
  and 
  forth 
  to 
  the 
  capital. 
  Every 
  quarter 
  

   of 
  a 
  league 
  (Polo, 
  1940, 
  says 
  half 
  league) 
  along 
  the 
  main 
  roads 
  was 
  a 
  

   pair 
  of 
  huts, 
  one 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  road, 
  each 
  hut 
  sheltering 
  two 
  

   runners 
  (caski). 
  The 
  huts 
  were 
  apparently 
  not 
  very 
  large 
  or 
  very 
  

   well 
  built, 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  called 
  c'oklya, 
  "shelter 
  hut," 
  instead 
  of 
  wasi, 
  

   "house"; 
  Cobo 
  describes 
  those 
  in 
  Aymara 
  territory 
  as 
  about 
  the 
  size 
  

   of 
  a 
  Spanish 
  oven, 
  and 
  built 
  of 
  dry 
  stone. 
  One 
  Indian 
  from 
  each 
  hut 
  

   was 
  always 
  on 
  the 
  watch 
  for 
  messages, 
  presumably 
  watching 
  in 
  oppo- 
  

   site 
  directions. 
  When 
  a 
  messenger 
  arrived, 
  the 
  waiting 
  runner 
  ran 
  

   beside 
  him 
  to 
  receive 
  the 
  dispatch, 
  usually 
  a 
  short 
  verbal 
  message 
  

   perhaps 
  accompanied 
  by 
  a 
  quipu 
  or 
  other 
  object, 
  and 
  carried 
  it 
  to 
  

   the 
  next 
  post. 
  In 
  this 
  way, 
  a 
  very 
  high 
  average 
  speed 
  could 
  be 
  kept 
  

   up. 
  The 
  runners 
  were 
  provided 
  by 
  the 
  towns 
  along 
  the 
  road 
  as 
  their 
  

   share 
  of 
  the 
  mit'a 
  tax. 
  The 
  men 
  served 
  15-day 
  shifts. 
  The 
  runners 
  

   were 
  trained 
  from 
  boyhood, 
  and 
  were 
  subject 
  to 
  very 
  severe 
  punish- 
  

   ment 
  for 
  failure 
  to 
  deliver 
  messages. 
  (Cobo, 
  1890-95, 
  bk. 
  12, 
  ch. 
  32; 
  

   Morua, 
  1922-25, 
  bk. 
  3, 
  ch. 
  24, 
  29; 
  Polo, 
  1940, 
  p. 
  140; 
  Cieza, 
  1880, 
  

   bk. 
  2, 
  ch. 
  21.) 
  

  

  The 
  average 
  speed 
  of 
  the 
  runners 
  was 
  about 
  50 
  leagues 
  a 
  day 
  (prob- 
  

   ably 
  150 
  miles 
  or 
  240 
  km.), 
  a 
  figure 
  based 
  according 
  to 
  Cobo, 
  on 
  runs 
  

   made 
  between 
  Lima 
  and 
  Cuzco 
  during 
  the 
  civil 
  wars 
  which 
  followed 
  

   the 
  Spanish 
  Conquest. 
  Cobo 
  states 
  that 
  Lima 
  to 
  Cuzco, 
  140 
  leagues 
  

   of 
  bad 
  road, 
  required 
  3 
  days. 
  In 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  17th 
  century, 
  the 
  

  

  » 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  good 
  English 
  translation 
  for 
  tambo, 
  because 
  the 
  buildings 
  were 
  designed 
  not 
  for 
  inns 
  but 
  

   for 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  government 
  officials 
  traveling 
  on 
  business, 
  but 
  tambo 
  is 
  sufficiently 
  well 
  known 
  in 
  anthropo- 
  

   logical 
  literature 
  to 
  justify 
  its 
  use 
  in 
  English. 
  

  

  