﻿SOCIAL 
  AND 
  ECONOMICO-POLITICAL 
  EVOLUTION 
  OF 
  

   THE 
  COMMUNITIES 
  OF 
  CENTRAL 
  PERT? 
  

  

  By 
  HlLDEBRANDO 
  CASTRO 
  PoZO 
  

  

  THE 
  AYLLU 
  UNDER 
  THE 
  INCA 
  EMPIRE 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  conquered 
  ancient 
  Peru, 
  which 
  was 
  then 
  called 
  

   Tahuantinsuyo, 
  the 
  Inca 
  Empire 
  extended 
  from 
  the 
  southern 
  part 
  of 
  

   present-day 
  Colombia 
  to 
  the 
  Maule 
  River 
  in 
  Chile 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  

   Pacific 
  Ocean 
  to 
  the 
  Amazon 
  Basin 
  and 
  the 
  Mendoza 
  region. 
  Under 
  

   the 
  Empire, 
  property 
  rights 
  in 
  land 
  were 
  vested 
  in 
  the 
  Inca 
  Emperor, 
  

   the 
  Sun 
  God, 
  the 
  curacas 
  (the 
  local 
  caciques 
  or 
  chiefs), 
  and 
  the 
  ayllus. 
  

   Each 
  of 
  these 
  enjoyed 
  possession 
  of 
  enough 
  land 
  to 
  satisfy 
  its 
  needs, 
  

   with 
  no 
  limitation 
  except 
  that 
  imposed 
  by 
  the 
  boundaries 
  and 
  the 
  

   allotment 
  of 
  each 
  family, 
  established 
  by 
  custom 
  and 
  sanctioned 
  by 
  the 
  

   economico-political 
  practices 
  of 
  the 
  Empire. 
  

  

  The 
  struggle 
  between 
  local 
  groups, 
  or 
  ayllus, 
  to 
  acquire 
  land 
  had 
  

   disappeared 
  with 
  the 
  establishment 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  regime. 
  The 
  parcels 
  

   of 
  land 
  belonging 
  to 
  ayllus 
  were 
  of 
  a 
  fixed 
  size; 
  only 
  the 
  lands 
  belong- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  Emperor, 
  the 
  Sun, 
  and 
  the 
  curacas 
  changed 
  in 
  dimension 
  

   through 
  the 
  conquest 
  of 
  new 
  towns 
  or 
  through 
  the 
  political 
  arrange- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  Emperors. 
  Newly 
  acquired 
  lands 
  were 
  divided 
  

   between 
  the 
  Emperor 
  and 
  the 
  Sun, 
  leaving 
  the 
  necessary 
  amount 
  to 
  

   the 
  conquered 
  tribes. 
  In 
  return 
  for 
  services 
  rendered, 
  the 
  Emperor 
  

   ceded 
  lands 
  to 
  the 
  chiefs, 
  curacas, 
  or 
  princes. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  Coast, 
  i.e., 
  the 
  zone 
  between 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Ocean 
  and 
  the 
  skirts 
  

   of 
  the 
  Andes, 
  each 
  aggregate 
  of 
  interrelated 
  family 
  groups 
  which 
  con- 
  

   stituted 
  an 
  ayllu 
  was 
  established 
  near 
  the 
  river, 
  on 
  a 
  small 
  hill 
  or 
  

   strategic 
  knoll 
  which 
  dominated 
  the 
  valley. 
  The 
  aboriginal 
  ayllus 
  

   were 
  organized 
  in 
  small 
  villages 
  (aldeas), 
  each 
  composed 
  of 
  one-room, 
  

   straw-roofed 
  houses 
  of 
  stone 
  or 
  of 
  clay 
  and 
  wood. 
  These 
  houses 
  were 
  

   round 
  or 
  square, 
  2 
  to 
  3 
  m. 
  (about 
  6 
  to 
  10 
  feet) 
  high 
  and 
  5 
  to 
  6 
  m. 
  (16 
  to 
  

   20 
  feet) 
  in 
  diameter 
  inside, 
  and 
  lacked 
  windows. 
  The 
  villages 
  had 
  no 
  

   regularly 
  planned 
  streets, 
  but 
  the 
  habitations 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  clustered 
  

   around 
  a 
  small 
  plaza, 
  in 
  which 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  large 
  edifice 
  (now 
  in 
  ruins), 
  

   which 
  was 
  possibly 
  the 
  Sun 
  temple 
  or 
  the 
  curaca's 
  residence. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Sierra 
  or 
  Highland 
  area, 
  the 
  ayllus 
  were 
  less 
  regularly 
  dis- 
  

   tributed 
  and 
  were 
  spaced 
  closer 
  together. 
  They 
  were 
  situated 
  along 
  

  

  483 
  

  

  