﻿Vol.2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  ROWE 
  275 
  

  

  adopted 
  quilt 
  armor 
  from 
  the 
  Aztec 
  and 
  Inca, 
  regarding 
  it 
  as 
  superior 
  

   to 
  European 
  steel 
  breastplates, 
  at 
  least 
  against 
  Indian 
  weapons. 
  

   Inca 
  soldiers 
  hung 
  round 
  shields 
  of 
  hard 
  chonta-palm 
  slats 
  and 
  

   cotton 
  on 
  their 
  backs. 
  Their 
  heads 
  were 
  protected 
  by 
  quilted 
  or 
  

   wooden 
  helmets 
  or 
  by 
  caps 
  of 
  plaited 
  cane 
  (illustrated 
  in 
  Montell, 
  

   1929, 
  fig. 
  21). 
  They 
  carried 
  square 
  or 
  round 
  shields 
  (wal'ka^qa 
  or 
  

   pol'kanqa) 
  on 
  their 
  arms, 
  sometimes 
  with 
  a 
  cloth 
  apron 
  hanging 
  

   from 
  the 
  lower 
  edge. 
  The 
  shields 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  narrow 
  boards 
  

   sheathed 
  with 
  deerskin 
  with 
  a 
  decorative 
  cloth 
  or 
  feather-cloth 
  cover 
  

   bearing 
  the 
  soldier's 
  device 
  in 
  colors. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  devices 
  were 
  

   simple 
  geometric 
  patterns, 
  without 
  any 
  known 
  symbolic 
  meaning. 
  

   Instead 
  of 
  a 
  shield, 
  soldiers 
  sometimes 
  wrapped 
  a 
  long 
  shawl 
  once 
  

   around 
  the 
  left 
  arm 
  to 
  pad 
  it 
  against 
  club 
  blows; 
  two 
  long 
  tails 
  from 
  

   it 
  entangled 
  the 
  opponent's 
  weapon. 
  In 
  attacking 
  fortified 
  positions, 
  

   they 
  used 
  a 
  great 
  sheet 
  of 
  tough 
  cloth 
  which 
  would 
  cover 
  about 
  a 
  

   hundred 
  men 
  as 
  a 
  protection 
  against 
  slingstones. 
  (Cobo, 
  1890-95, 
  

   bk. 
  14, 
  ch. 
  9; 
  Xerez, 
  1917, 
  pp. 
  63-64; 
  Poma, 
  1936, 
  pp. 
  155, 
  161, 
  169, 
  

   171; 
  Morua, 
  1922-25, 
  bk. 
  2, 
  chs. 
  7, 
  10.) 
  

  

  Long-range 
  weapons 
  varied 
  locally, 
  but 
  the 
  Inca 
  armies 
  regularly 
  

   used 
  all 
  of 
  them. 
  The 
  mountain 
  Indians 
  used 
  slings 
  of 
  plaited 
  wool, 
  

   rawhide, 
  or 
  vegetable 
  fiber, 
  about 
  7 
  to 
  24 
  inches 
  (18 
  to 
  60 
  cm.) 
  long 
  

   when 
  doubled, 
  with 
  a 
  wider 
  cradle 
  or 
  stone-rest 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  and 
  a 
  

   finger 
  loop 
  at 
  one 
  end. 
  With 
  these, 
  they 
  threw 
  stones 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  

   hen's 
  egg 
  or 
  larger 
  with 
  great 
  accuracy. 
  The 
  sling 
  was 
  also 
  used 
  for 
  

   hunting, 
  in 
  dances, 
  and 
  wound 
  around 
  the 
  head 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  hair 
  in 
  

   place. 
  The 
  bolas 
  was 
  used 
  at 
  somewhat 
  closer 
  range 
  than 
  the 
  sling 
  to 
  

   entangle 
  the 
  enemy's 
  feet, 
  and, 
  like 
  the 
  sling, 
  it 
  was 
  also 
  used 
  in 
  

   hunting. 
  It 
  consisted 
  of 
  two 
  to 
  five 
  weights 
  of 
  stone, 
  copper, 
  or 
  

   wood, 
  varying 
  from 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  robin's 
  egg 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  fist, 
  connected 
  

   by 
  cords 
  fastened 
  together 
  in 
  the 
  middle. 
  The 
  weights 
  were 
  usually 
  

   wrapped 
  in 
  bits 
  of 
  rawhide 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  cords 
  were 
  fastened. 
  

  

  The 
  Coast 
  Indians 
  used 
  spear 
  throwers 
  and 
  darts 
  with 
  fire-hardened 
  

   points. 
  This 
  weapon 
  was 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  Highlands 
  in 
  Chanapata 
  and 
  

   Tiahuanaco 
  times, 
  but 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  entirely 
  superseded 
  there 
  

   by 
  the 
  sling 
  and 
  bolas 
  before 
  the 
  Inca 
  rose 
  to 
  power. 
  It 
  survived 
  on 
  

   the 
  Coast, 
  however, 
  and 
  was 
  brought 
  back 
  to 
  Highland 
  battlefields 
  by 
  

   the 
  Coastal 
  soldiers 
  of 
  the 
  Emperor. 
  23 
  The 
  bow 
  and 
  arrow 
  were 
  not 
  

   used 
  as 
  weapons 
  by 
  the 
  mountain 
  Indians. 
  Their 
  modern 
  use 
  as 
  toys 
  

   may 
  be 
  simply 
  in 
  imitation 
  of 
  their 
  use 
  by 
  Montana 
  tribes, 
  whom 
  the 
  

   Highlanders 
  love 
  to 
  mimic. 
  However, 
  there 
  were 
  words 
  for 
  bow 
  and 
  

   arrow 
  in 
  16th-century 
  Quechua 
  (*picta 
  and 
  wachi). 
  The 
  bowmen 
  

   in 
  the 
  Inca 
  army 
  were 
  all 
  forest 
  Indians, 
  and 
  their 
  weapons 
  were 
  

   typical 
  of 
  the 
  latter. 
  

  

  » 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  Quechua 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  spear 
  thrower. 
  It 
  is 
  usually 
  called 
  "tira- 
  

   dera" 
  or 
  "amiento" 
  by 
  the 
  chroniclers; 
  "estolica" 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  more 
  modern 
  word. 
  See 
  Cobo, 
  1890-95, 
  

   bk. 
  14, 
  ch. 
  9; 
  Las 
  Casas, 
  1892, 
  ch. 
  5. 
  

  

  