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IV The Natureof Inca Royal Estates
Susan A. Niles
Many of thc archaeological si tes visited by Hiram
Bingham III and best known to modern travelers were
thc Inca royal estates. These complexes, built by an in-
dividual Inca ruler and used by him and his family, had
significant economic and social functions in addition to
their importance as pleasant places where the king ami
his courtiers could rest and enjoy themselves. Machu
Picchu was one such estate, built by the king Pachacuti.
This chapter explores the nature afinca royal estates so
that Machu Picchu can be understood in its historical
and social context.
What Are Royal Estates?
Although they encompassed only a small portian of the
territory that fe]] within the Inca Empire, royal estates
were especially significant kinds of properties. They ern-
bed important notions of caste, privilege, and religion,
and - better than any other kind of Inca construction -
display the engineering prowess of their builders.
During the reign of the Incas, relatively little land was
owned by individuals, and in this regard, royal estates
operated differently from most holdings. There are par-
ticular reasons why estates were unusuaI, and why this
pattern of ownership and design made sense. In arder to
understand Inca royal estates, we have to look at how
Inca royal families werc organized, and explore sorne of
the activities that members of these families cnjoyed.
Although nominally owned by an Inca king, royal es-
tates were managed by and far the benefit ofhis family.
The families acted much like a corporation, working to
conserve their resources and their reputation and assign-
ing management functions to various members. The
head of the family ami owner of its property was its
faunder, the Inca king, whether he was alive or deacl.
The corporations reflected the structure afinca royal
families. As was the case far their contemporaries in the
royal houses of Europe, Inca descent was theoretically
patrilineal. That is, a child inherited his or her most sig-
nificant family iclentityfrom the father. This royal lin-
eage was known as the panaca. In arder to preserve the
purity of the royal families, the late Inca kings (after the
micl-fiftecnthccntury) wcrc cxpcctcd to take their prin-
cipal wifc from among thcir fu]] sistcrs. Thc marriagc to
the sister-wifewas theoreticallydcsigned to produce a
purc and unambiguous heir, but in practicc, only onc
Inca king (Huayna Capac) was thc product of such a
umon.
One of the rnost important rules afinca royal desccnt
49
Sw;anJ\. Ni/es
statcd tliat cach rulcr must cstablish his own panaca. As
soon as a son succcccled his fathcr in office, he left thc
panaca of the fathcr ami beca me hcad of his own. Thc
position was markcd symbolically by his official mar-
riagc to his sister, which took place at the same time he
succccded to office. Frorn this point on, he was the
foundcr of a panaca, a potential anccstor. Thc sons who
did not succeed thcir father in almost ali cases remaine<l as
part of the Iathcr's dcsccnt group. Thc job of running thc
estate inclucled managing the real property, plus
managing thc reputation of thc deacl owner, as the well-
being of thc living mcmbcrs of thc descent group was cli-
rectly rclatecl to thc prcstigc accor<lcd the dcad ancestor.
Posthnmous grants to clead kings werc made in cases
where his reputation advanccd - very likely owing to
thc strategic managcmcnt ofhoth thc reputation and
political allianccs by important living mernbers ofthe
family. 'lhe produce of the land on royal estates sus-
tained thc living rncmbers of thc clescent group and,
most irnportant, maintainecl thc cult of the dcacl lineage
ancestor, He rcmainccl on his property, moving from
palacc to palacc 011 his various estafes, enjoying the
food, becr, ami other goods produced 011 its lands. ') 'he
land bclonging to dcad kings remaincd thcir property.
In fact, their holdings werc so vast that the later rulers
complaincd that the best property bclonged to the cleacl,
ami therc was little left to sustain the living kings. Huas-
car, thc last king of Cuzco, scanclalizccl thc royal fami-
Iies by taking some of thc esta tes that had belonged to
the dead and using them for his own purposes.
The son who succeeclccl his father in officc startecl
out with power, but without wcalth. One ofhis first acts
was, of neccssity, to find property that coulcl be clevel-
opcd to support his family ancl his court. In short, he
had to founcl a royal estate. The estate each king devel-
opcd was designecl to suit his own tasto and his own so-
cial, economic, and political neecls. Bccause the estates
around Cuzco were developcd sequentially, thcy are of
particular interest to archaeologists who hope to exam-
ine differences that might be attributcd to particular
rcigns.
How Were Estates Acquired?
'I 'he Incas lovecl to tell stories about their leaders' ac-
cornplishrnents, inclucling legcnds that account for the
50
founding of royal estates. Thcse stories show the variety
of ways in which particular members of royal familics
carne to own property.
The creation of estates is, in many cases, associatccl
with Inca military triumphs. Whenever they conquered
new regions, the Incas cmbarked on construction pro-
jects that would serve their political agencia: roads and
bridges facil itated the movemcnt of the army into thc
region, and of tribute goods out to the capital; adrninis-
trative centers housed the governmcnt overseers and
provincial workers cloing ternporary service to the Inca
state. Such constrnctions were the tangible proof of
Inca superiority. Built in an alien style, by conscriptcd
labor, they were monuments to Inca control of the
provinces. Although not created exclusively to furthcr
the pol itical agencia of the state, thc royal esta tes servccl
an equivalent function. They were reminders to local
peoplc of the new political arder. The rich agricultural
clevelopments that were part of them, as well, wcre mod-
els ofhow the Incas could irnprove upon local practices.
Pachacuti, who ruled from around A.O. 1438-1471,
celebrated each ofhis early military cxcursions by creat-
ing an estate (Rowe 1990: 143). Early in his reign, Pacha-
cuti set out to conquer the Urubamba Vallcy. Consoli-
dating control would give him acccss not only to thc
rich agriculhnal lands of the valley, but also to passes
that would leacl to the coca lands of Antisuyu and the sil-
ver and golcl mines ofVilcabamba. Defeating first a
group callee! the Cuyos, and later, the Tambos, Pacha-
cuti marked each of those conquests with a permanent
memorial ofhis victory: near the Cuyos' capital he cre-
ated an estate anda palace at Pisac; in thc old Tambo
clomain, he createcl an estate and palace at Ollantay-
tambo (Rowe 1990: 141). Machu Picchu was almost
surely another example of Pachacuti's policy of building
a monument to commemorate his conquest of this hard-
won region (Rowe 1990: 141). Like Pisac and Ollantay-
tambo, it was a "jewcl in his crown" that stood as a per-
manent memorial of bis victory.
In other instances, royal estates were carvecl out of
land that was not especially useful. In such cases, we as-
sume the Inca reclamation of the Jane! was more a
demonstration of engineering prowess than of military
expertise. This was the case in an estate createcl by
Pachacuti's granclson, Huayna Capac, on a piecc of far-

KllOMETEAS
o 20 40
E Landa over 4600 met.,.
.6. hlace complexon n Incaroyal ,Nbte
t::i. Architecturaprobablybelonglng to en lnc roy.. eetate
4.1 Royal estates near Cuzco.
rnerly worthless land in the meander plain of the
Urubarnba Rivcr. Although the property was in a region
that had long been pacified, the land had been over-
looked by his predecessors, probably as unworthy of
their attention. But Huayna Capac made it productivc
by drafting 150,000 workers to canalize the river and to
move soil onto agricultura! tenaces created in the for-
mer swampland (Betanzos 1996: 170). When finished,
the estate was one of the richest of the royal develop-
ments near Cuzco. Most likely, this ruler employed am-
bitious engineering and architectural innovations on his
estate because ofhis interest in demonstrating his ability
to control resources and improve upon the technologi-
cal inventions of his ancestors (Niles 1999: 293-297).
Sorne royal land was acquired in the form of grants.
When estates were created, the ruler sometimes left
INCA ROYAL ESTATES
LARES VAUEY
"Calachaca
A A"""'8marca
cuzco
pieces of the land to be usccl for thc bcncfit of others.
For example, the estate of Huayna Capac's father, Topa
Inca, included grants to his principal wife, to other royal
men, and to the Incas' chief divinity, thc Sun (Niles
1999: 149-150; Villanueva Urteaga 1971). Huayna Capac
was especially lavish with his grants. His estate near
Urubamba included grants to his sister-wife, his dcad
mother, a favored secondary wife, and various unnarned
lords and Jadies (Niles 1999: 150-151). Many of thc
grants were probably madc to reward the loyalty of the
owncrs or their descent group in the wake of the various
coup attempts that plagued Huayna Capac's early reign.
Esta tes were theoretically inalienable; that is, owner-
ship was prvate and could not be transferred. However,
grants could be expanded by later rulers who wished to
honoran illustrious ancestor, and could be removed by
51
Susan A. Ni/es

Table 4.1 Inca Holdings in Regions SurroundingCuzco

Ruler Reign Estates

Manco Capac Mythical
Sinchi Roca Unknown

Lloque Yupanqui Unknown

Mayta Capac Unknown
Capac Yupanqui Unknown
Inca Roca Unknown Larapa
Yahuar Huacac Unknown
Viracocha Inca Pre-1438 Huch'uy Qozqo
Pachacuti Inca Yapanqui 1438-1471 Pisac
Pachar
Picchu
Tambo Machay
Topa Inca 1471-1495 Chinchero
Huayna Capac 1498-152i8 Yucay/Urubamba
Huascar 1527/8-1532 Calca
Muina
Atahualpa None near Cuzco

So11rce: lnformalion is based 011 a variety of sources. For full refereuces see Niles (1999: 3, 76-77, 120).

a ruler when a dead owner fe]] from favor. For this rea-
son, managing the reputation of the ancestor was an im-
portant part of the work of bis descendants.
Where Were Estates Built?
The physical location of Inca royal estates mirrors the
expansin of the empire carved out by these brave war-
riors. Historical documents - supplemented by archae-
ological surveys - verify the location of esta tes in most
of the region smrounding the Inca capital, Cuzco (Fig-
ure 4.1). Located at the head of the Huatanay Valley, the
capital was ringed by property that belonged to the Inca
kings and nobles. Tracts were owned by the earliest
known Incas, those who ruled prior to the mid-fifteenth
ccntury, when, under the leader Pachacuti, the Incas
began to systernatically expand their domain; the region
continued to he developed for the latest Inca kings
(Table 4.1). Terraced fields and isolated architectural
compounds surrounding the capital very likely be-
longed to these individuals. By perhaps the 143os, the In-
cas were making conquests in the nearby, and consider-
ably more lush and fertile, Vilcanota-Urubamba Valley.
Rulers from that point onward added extensive develop-
ments from that region to their holdings closer to the
capital. By the middle of Pachacuti's reign, lands in the
forested regions north and east of Cuzco were also in-
corporated in the empire, and coca-growing estates
were later established in the Amaybamba, Tono, and
Qosipata valleys. There may well have been royal es-
tates in sorne provinces much farther from the capital,
built as the empire expanded, but to date, no work has
been done to identify any such holdings, if they existed.
Although we often think of the modern limits of ar-
chaeological sites as coterminous with ancient bound-

52

mrra~~---
1 km. 2 km. 3 km. ~T-.-
~
P--.d' WlllU
4.2 The royal estates developed by Huayna Capac at Urubamba, TopaInca at Chinchero. and Pachacuti at
Ollantaytambo.
aries, this is not the right way to view them. Rather, an-
cient palaces, such as those at Pisac, Chinchero, or
Machu Picchu, were smply parts of a whole system of
propertes developed and owned by an Inca king as part
of an estate.
Archaeological surveys, coupled with legal docu-
ments, suggest that the Incas conceived of estates as
strings of fields located in arable spots a long a valley
floor, owned by an individual who hada palace nearby,
and sustained by farmers in support communities built
within the estate's boundaries. A single estate could con-
sist of dozens of named plots ofland, along with the in-
frastructure - roads, bridges, tenaces, towns - needed
INCA ROYAL ESTATES
to make it profitable. The documentary evidence for es-
tates - especially those from Urubamba and Chinchero
(Villanueva Urteaga 1971) - shows that the Incas con-
ceived of them as a string of namcd places organizcd in
a logical way asan individual's properties. Estates were
not the only kinds of properties conceived of as individ-
ual named places related in a logical way. The shrine
system of the Inca capital that formed the focus of royal
devotion was organized this way, as well. There, over
three-hundred-fifty named shrines (huacas) wcre be-
lieved to be arrayed on forty-one lines (ceques) that were
thought to emanate from the capital. In both cases, the
records of properties (whether royal or sacred) could be
53
 Susan A Ni/es
4.3 Terraces near the palace on Topa Inca's estate at Chinchero. Photo by Susan Niles.
casily rccorclecl on quipus, the knottecl string corcls the
Incas uscd to keep rccords. Some of these places in-
cludcd architecture, others includcd fields. On large es-
tates, productivity figures and censuses were kept. The
parts of the estate were related by access - whether by
roads or rivers. Ownership was scrupulously recordcd-
whcthcr the ruler, his associates, his childrcn, ora deity
was the nominal owner of the property. The quality of
the land was noted, as well, with observations on
whcther it was goocl land or bad, usecl for maize or for
eollecting firewoocl, orto grow coca or hot peppers.
Beeause of the documentary evidence of the struc-
turc of thcse propertics, it is possible to map the bound-
aries of estafes. Estates were cleveloped following majar
topographic features (Figme 4.2). 'lopa Inca's estate at
Chinchero, for exarnplc, included the edge of a high
plain, and continued clown an adiaccnt canyon and to
thc fields immediately across the river from the canyon's
mouth. Huayna Capac's estate at Urubarnba began at
1:
54
one constriction in the river valley, and ended more
than nine miles clown valley at the next significant con-
striction. Pachacuti's developments at Ollantaytambo
began on the far side of the constriction where Huayna
Capac's ended (at Pachar), and continued as far as the
narrowing ofthe Urubarnba canyon just beyond Ollan-
taytambo. Today, all these boundaries coincide with
Aow patterns of irrigation sources and with administra-
tive boundaries; such features may have been relevant,
as well, in antiquity.
Estates included fields as well as other kinds of devel-
opments. For exarnple, at Ollantaytambo, palaces for
the nobles, lodgings for the king, and shrines - the part
of the site best known to visitors today- were but part of
the estate: it included over nine miles of river-bottom
lancl from Pachar to just below Ollantaytambo, re-
claimed by canalizing the river ancl terracing the fields.
It also included roads and bridges to provide access to
them, and storehouses for the produce. (See Protzen

4.4 Overview of the terraces at Yucaythat were part of Huayna Capac's estate. Photo by Susan Niles.
1993 for a discussion ofllantaytambo.) Developments
in the adjacent Patacancha Valley probably also relate
to th is estate.
How Were Estates Used?
Because the main purpose of the estates was to provide
physical support for the ruling Inca and his descent
group, they generally included substantial develop-
ments devoted to production of crops. Esta tes also in-
cluded pastures, forests, and mines that were privately
owned by a ruler (Rostworowski 1970: 253). Archaeologi-
cally it is easiest to identify many of the agricultura!
fields associated with estates. Sorne fields remained un-
terraced, but most estates included vast tracts of agricul-
tura! land, sorne of which was terraced to increase its
productivity (Figures 4-3 and 4-4). On Huayna Capac's
estate, for exarnple, one terraced field measured over
one-quarter mile in length by nearly one-tenth of a mile
in width, and there were dozens of such fields. Tenaces
INCA ROYAL ES TATES
provided leve! land in the mountainous regan. They
also helped to facilita te the movement of water across
fields. In the highest regions, fields were devoted to
pota toes; the bulk of the land in the Urubamba-Vilcan-
ota Valley was devoted to maize, a staple valued in its
own right, and also used to make the beer that was an
important part afinca ritual and entertaining (Figure
4.5).
In at least one case, we have evidence of salt produc-
tion areas on an estate: Topa Inca owned land near
Maras, ata town called Cache (which means "salt"),
and some residents of the town were royal salt makers
(Levillier 1940: 108). The extant system of tenaces on
which salt is produced by evaporating water from salty
springs in the area probably makes use of the old royal
Inca saltworks (Figure 4.6).
The efficiency of the state-level economy the Incas
imposed on the captured provinces impressed their
Spanish conquerors. Coods collected in tribute were
55
Susan A. Ni les
gathered in administrative centcrs, where they could he
rcclirected to support such state endeavors as outfitting
the army or provisioning the conscripts who were build-
ing Inca macis and hriclgcs. Thc administrative effi-
ciency of the Incas is secn in the cornpounds of store-
houses that surround provincial administrative centers,
such as Huanuco Pampa and other sites in the central
highlands (D'Altroy 1992; Le Vine 1992; Monis and
Thompson 1985).
Justas goods from the statc economy were stored in
large complexes of carefully guarded storehouses, the
produce of the royal cconomy was similarly ware-
housed. Recent work has iclcntifiecl a number of massive
cornplexes of storage facilities acljacent to royal estate
lan<ls hclonging to Pachacuti (Protzen 199f m-135),
Topa Inca (Niles 2001; Nilcs ancl Batson 1999), ancl
56
4.5 Maize grownon the terracesthat
were part of Topa Inca'sestate in
the valley below Chinchero.Photo
by Susan Niles.
Huayna Capac (Niles 2001; Niles and Batson 1999).
Both the sheer size of the bu ilclings as well as the capac-
ity of the complexes attest to the quantity of goocls pro-
clucecl on estates. In fact, the storage capacity of sorne
royal storage compounds clwarfs the capacity of even the
large administrative center. The scale of the storage fa-
cilities near royal estates suggests that, in the heartland
of the empire, the royal economy far outpaced the state
economy.
Severa! styles of storehouses are associatecl with royal
sites. One compound notecl by Bingham's contempo-
rary at the site callecl Peas, or Piasniyoq, includes a
group of fifty-one contiguous square chambers (Cook
1918: 108; ancl see Huaycochea Nez de la Torre 1994:
130-172). This style might have been used to store tu-
bcrs, such as potatoes (Protzen 1993: 119-121). Thc loca-
tion of the site adjacent to the Inca road from Ollantay-
tambo (Pachacuti's estate in the Urubamba Valley) and
lands in Quilla bamba and Amaybamba, where there
were royal coca fields, suggests at least the possibility
that it could have been used to warehouse this ritually
important commodity, although the mute may also
have been used to transfer goods from the silver and
gold mines ofVilcabamba to the Inca capital. Other
groups oflarge, rectangular storehouses are related to
the estates ofTopa Inca and Huayna Capac, where
maize was a majar product, though, like the storehouses
of Peas, they could also have been used to warehouse
goods needed to sustain workers or residents on the es-
tates orto store goods in transit from other royal lands
and the capital (Figure 4.7).
The presence of storehouses adjacent to royal estates,
as well as the size of the structures and magnitude of the
si tes, reminds us that the royal economy was a very sig-
nificant influence, and that estates hadan important
role in sustaining the elite families of Cuzco.
4.6 Terraces at Maras used for the production of salt by evaporation. They were probably originally part of Topa Incu's
royal estate.
Estates as Social Cosmos
Esta tes, created as private patrimony for rnembers of
royal families, confirmed the belief of the Incas that
they were special, their gods' chosen ones. Their special
place relative to people of other ethnic groups was fur-
ther affirrned by the social working of the estates.
Estates were created by conscripted labor and staffecl
by retainers who served the owner in perpetuity. These
retainers (known as yanacona) farmed the land, main-
tained buildings, carried produce to storage, and servcd
in the palace when the king and his courtiers were in
residence. The support population mirrored the struc-
ture of the expanding Inca Empire.
As the Incas conquered new provinces, portions of
the existing population were granted the status of
mitima, or colonist. Colonists were removed from their
natal villages and moved to communities to serve the
Inca cause elsewhere. Sorne of the mitima settlers be-
came retainers on Inca royal estates. For exarnple, two
thousand households of colonists of various ethnic
57
 ---. ,;

INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

SusanA. Nles

4.7 Reconstruction drawing of Mama Collca. a massive complex of storehouses associated with Topa Inca's royal estate
near Chinchero. Drawing by Robert N. Batson.

groups were settled on Huayna Capac's estate; these set-
tlers carne from provinces in which he had active mili-
tary campaigns (Collasuyu and Chinchaysuyu). An ad-
ditional fifty households of colonists were brought from
Ecuador -where Huayna Capac was consolidating
conquests at the time ofhis death-to serve his mummy
as retainers (Ni les 1999: 131-133). While we do not al-
ways know the ethnic identity of the yanacona on es- ta
tes, it is likely that sorne of the retainers on Pachacuti's
estafes were Soras, Lucanas, and Chancas. These were
regions in which he had made early conquests, ancl
from which additional servants were granted by bis
grandson to attend to the needs ofhis mummy (Betan-
zos 1996: 167). In addition to colonists from conquered
provinces, estates had resident populations of ethnic In-
cas, brought to oversee projects on the estates.
The policy of moving people from the provinces to
the estates meant that their population was rnade up of
workers from variecl ethnic backgrounds. Although we
bel icvc that workers were moved into settlements built
far them by estate owners, we might expect that sorne of
the patterns of their use of this space would show the in-
habitants' status as fareigners. We might also expect that
sorne heirloom objects might have been brought from
their native land to leave a physical trace in the material
record of the settlers' life. We have documentary evi-
dence far the massive relocations of these retainers, yet
relatively little archaeology has been done to identify
the ethnicity of the support populations on esta tes. We
can, however, suggest that the estates were maps of thc Inca
social cosmos.
Estates as Pleasant Places
While the importance of estates to the royal economy
has dominated the cliscussion thus far, it is important to
note that a majar function of royal estates had to do with
creating a place where the Inca ruler and his associates
could relax between military ventures and indulge in
activities they found pleasurable. Estates had palaces,
parks, lakes, gardens, and dovecotes. Inca rulers are de-

58
 ---~

INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

scribed as receiving and entertaining ambassadors at

their country palaces, and 'lapa Inca spent most ofhis
later years - after consolidating his conquests in the
north - at bis estate in Chinchero, gambling and dally-
i11g with a favored concubine. Spanish chroniclers
notecl the pleasurable function of estates, comparing
them to Aran juez, the summer palacc of the Spanish
court. We might make analogies to Carnp David, where
American leaders retreat to get away from thc prcss of of-
ficial business, as well as to entertain visiting dignitarics.
The activities in which the Inca indulged were var-
icd: Topa Inca ancl Huayna Capac played gambling
garnes on their estates. Rahua Ocllo, Huayna Capac's
consort, raisecl doves ancl gardened on his estate. Both
Huayna Capac and Pachacuti had hunting lodges on
their holdings, as well, so they could indulge in that
royal privilege. From sixteenth-century descriptions of
Huayna Capac's palace, we know it was surrounded by
lakes and parklands, and fountains and carefully tended
gardens were also part of the landscape (N iles 1999; Vil-
la nueva Urteaga 1971). Gardens had flowers, trees, ancl
cxotic crops as well as crops of ritual importance like the
hot peppers used in mourning ceremonies and the reeds
used to ritually pierce the ears of young noblemen.
The heart of the esta tes was a palace, which we can
often identify archaeologically and which is also men-
4.8 At Ollantaytambo. stone-paved streets are shaded by
tioned in historical sources. It is somewhat frustrating
the austere surrounding walls of palace compounds.
that even when we can identify estates and associate probably built by Pachacuti for his nobles. Photo by
them with rulers, it is often difficult to identify which Susan Niles.
particular complex within them would have been the
palace structure. At best, we can use documentary evi-
dence to locate the building, identifying features more groups of courtyard houses are described in historical
commonly found in prestigious architecture to guess at sources as the palaces of nobles (Figure 4-8). Which- if
which buildings may have served the ruler. In contrast any- actually belonged to the builder, Pachacuti, is un-
to the palaces of their European conternporaries, in known (Protzen 1993: 64). At Calca, the formally
which a single structure had multiple rooms that served planned town had perhaps as many as twenty-thrcc
different functions, Inca rulers tended to build com- walled blocks ofhouses (Niles 1989). Two compounds
pounds in which discrete buildings served varied Iunc- have the double-jambed entrances ancl better-fitted ma-
tions. For examplc, Hatun Cancha, in Cuzco, was said sonry that make them more likely canclidates for palaccs
to have hundreds of component buildings within it, and of the site's builder, Huascar, but, again, the specific
Huayna Capac's town palace was large enough to in- palace in which he may have spent time is not known. E
clucle an artificial pone!. But within these compounds, ven in the case of Huayna Capac, where documents
the specific quarters of the king cannot be identified make it clear exactly where the principal palace woulcl
with any certainty. have been, we have only surrounding walls anda few
At Ollantaytambo, for example, the nine extant renmants of the component buildings by wh ich to iclen-

59
 ---~

INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

Susan A. Niles

tify the compound (Niles 1999). Ancl at that sitc, the 60

palace in which the mummy of the dead owner was
housecl -which is, again, very specifically located in
historical clocuments - cannot be identified at ali.
lfthe imposing remains of palaccs provide inclefinite
answers to archaeologists, we are even less secure in
iclentifying the houses of the legions of retainers who
servcd the estates. For example, the retainers who served
Huayna Capac were settlccl in nine such towns, whose
locations can be approximated; still, there is no physical
trace of the residences where the support population
livcd.
Esta tes also had facilities for ritual, which was an im-
portant part of a ruler's cluties anclan even more irnpor-
tant part of the duty of the custodians ofhis mummy.
Huayna Capac, for exarnple, hacl a water garden on his
estate where he grew a particular kind of reed used to
piercc the ears of young boys in the rite of passage that
markccl the move to manhoocl for noblemen. Sorne of
the fields on his estate were almost certainly used to sup-
port thc nmmmies ofhis deacl mother and principal
wife. Other fields were dedicated to the Sun, to produce
the goods required for his worship.
Inca kings were divine, ancl clemonstrations of
picty- to both human and divine ancestors -were im-
portant. It is likely that rnuch ofthe produce from their
esta tes went to sustain their ritual obligations. It is also
likely that any clevotions that were required hy circum-
stancc (such as pctitions to a deity or commemorations
of a death) or by calendar (regularly occurring celebra-
tions) woulcl havo been performed ates tates if the ruler
was in residcnce. 'I'hus, in aclclition to the inherent sa-
crcdness of a particular location on an estate, estates
likely had provisions for royal worship. There were also
provisions for the devotions attendant u pon the custodi-
ans of thc royal mumrny, when it was in residence on
the estate.

Architecture on Royal Estates

Each ruler who dcveloped 111 estate put bis mark on it
by crcating structures that matchecl his vision of himself
in the worlcl. lt is illustrative to compare the palaces of
two Inca rulcrs whose handiwork is relatively well
known. In thc architecturc built by Pachacuti and by his
 ---~

INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

grandson, Huayna Capac, we see reAections of their dif- of the buildings at the lnti Huatana sector of Pisac (Fig-
fering concerns. ure 4-10) and perfected at the "Semicircular Temple," or
'Ihe first king to rule an ernpire, "Torren," at Machu Picchu (Figure 4.11).
Pachacuti carne to power by repelling an More than any other Inca builder, Pachacuti incorpo-
invasion of the Inca capital, dis- placing rated natural outcrops of bedrock into beautifully fitted
bis ather, and quashing at atternptecl walls at his country palaces. In sorne cases, for example,
usurpa- tion of the position by his brother. the cave that forms the "Royal Mausoleum" at Machu
More than any of the other Inca rulers, Picchu, masonry was fittecl into the interstices of a nat-
Pachacuti chose to present hirnself as a ural cave or crevice (Figure 4.12). Other builclings seern
creator, with the formalized histories that
retold his
life focusing on his invention oflaws, bis
creation of rit- uals ( especially the funeral
ritual), and bis work as a builder. Pachacuti
also embarked upon projects to phys- ically
reshape the world. He redesigned the
Huatanay Valley, providing it with
irrigation canals and terraces so that it
could he more productively farrned. He
rebuilt
the Inca capital of Cuzco so that it would
suit its new position as seat of an empire.
In doing this, he devisecl a new
architectural style, one which, according
to sorne chroniclers, may have bcen based
upon his impression
of the smoothly fitted stonework of
Tiahuanaco, an an- cient sitc near Lakc
Titicaca with which the Incas had mvthical
ties (see, e.g., Cobo 1979: 141). Pachacuti's
stylc was used in bis redesign of sorne of the
principal build- ings of the capital,
including its most sacred place of worship,
the Temple of the Sun (Figure 4.9). In the
sto- ries that tell of bis work as a builder,
Pachacuti is de- scribcd as laying out the
plan of the city in clay models, joining his
closest associates in taking up cords to
mea- sure out the building founclations
personally (see cspe- cially Betanzos 1996:
44-45, 69-71). Whether or not the stories
are true, they show that Pachacuti likecl to
portray himself as intimately involvecl in
physically reshaping
his world.
Man y of the design features cviclent in
Cuzco's style are seen in Pachacuti's royal
estates. For exarnple, the style of fitting
blocks in perfect courses is seen in sorne
 INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

4.9 One of the structures in the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco.designed by Pachacuti. Photo by Susan
Niles.

4.10 lnti Huatana sector of Pisac. one of Pachacuti's royal estates. showing the coursed. fitted
masonry style he developed for important buildings. Photo by Susan Niles.
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11
Susan A. Niles
i
1

4.11 The exterior wall of the "Semicircular Temple" at 4.12 "Royal Mausoleum" at Machu Picchu shows a
Machu Picchu is another example of the coursed. natural rock crevice completed by fitted masonry.
fitted masonry Pachacuti favored. Photo by Susan Photo by Susan Niles.
Niles.

to grow organically out of thc bc<lrock (Figure +13). In han<liworks. Muchas he took crcdit for establishing thc
such spaces, the architecture seems to complete a work social and religious order of the Incas, he also developed
left unfinished in nature: the boundary between the an architectural style that improves upon the handiwork
work of architcct and Creator is blurred. of Creator. What the dcity had left unfinished, Pachacuti
In this approach to design, Pachacuti is probably re- completed. What the deity made good, Pachacuti made
vealing somcthing ofhis imagc ofhimself in relation to better, by framing a goo<l view and making it perfect.
thc spiritual forces that shaped his world. Bernab Cobo Pachacuti's work as a social reformer is suggested in
tells a storv about Pachacuti: 011 thc cve ofbattle he hacl a the design ofhis palaces. He claimed to have invented
vision of the Sun god in which it was revealed that he Inca notions of caste, establishing the purity of thc
was that deity's choseu son. Later he <lcvoted himself to rulers by enforccd brother-sister marriage, defining the
the superior power of Pachayachachic, the Creator, to Incas as a chosen people, elevating important allies to
whom he dedicate<l temples and haudiworks (Cobo nobles of a lower rank (Incas-by-privilege), and impos-
1979: 1 34-135). lt docs not seem too far a strctch to sug- ing marriage an<l sumptuary laws to maintain and reaf-
gest that Pachacuti was cmulating the Crcator god in his firm these ranks, His architectural exprcssion of this be-

62
 INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

1
4.13 Detail. lnti Huatana sector of Pscc. showing the 4.14 Gateway through the wall that endoses portions of
incorporation of bedrock into the architectural Pisac. Photo by Susan Niles.
structure, a design feature Pachacuti favored. Photo
by Susan Niles.

lief system is seen in the pervasivc use of walls and door- cuti's cstates, and at least symbolically control access to
ways in the structures he built. Walls and gateways are a thcse sites.
prominent feature at such si tes as Puca Pucara, his Further, discrete compounds at si tes clevisecl by
hunting lodge, which is ringcd by a wall pierced by a Pachacuti show arrangements of buildings that vary with
single entrance. The ceremonial Pisac, built on a nar- respect to their size, building materials, and complexity
row ridge ofland, is approached through a series of gate- of arrangement. For exarnple, at Machu Picchu, sorne
ways that flank the formal pathway along the promon- groups are composed of single structurcs arrayed along a
tory (Figure 4.14). And anyone who has entered Machu tenace, while other parts of thc site include builclings
Picchu on the "Inca Trail" has first encountered it disposed around a courtyarcl (see Bingham's plan shown
through a splendid view framed by a formal gateway that in Chapter 2, Figure 2.12). I have arguecl elscwlierc that
shapes the visitor's first experience of the site (Figure such variations in building size ami arrangement most
4-15). More symbolic definitions of the sites than effec- tivc likely reflect differences in prestige among the residents
fortification walls, such gateways and adjaccnt bits of wall ofbuildings or among thc activities that took place
do serve to define the royal precinct of Pacha- within them (Niles 198T 40-58).

63
Susan A. Ni les
4.15 The entrance gate to Machu Picchu framing a view of
Huayna Picchu. Photo by Richard Burger.
Drawing on the principies of design devised by his
grandfather, Huayna Capac developcd an estate quite
different in character (N ilcs 1999). Huayna Capac, who
carne to power around sixty years after Pachacuti began
to build his cm pire, could benefit from a long-estab-
lished tradition of architecture to design his palaces and
could makc use of time-tested principles of engineering
to creare the physical infrastructurc ofhis estate. Still,
having taken the helm of an cmpire that had virtually
clirnaxcd dnring his father's rcign, Huayna Capac faccd
many problems. Within thc first severa! ycars ofhis fa-
thcr's death, Huayna Capac had to quash two coup at-
tempts spcarheaded by highly placed members of
Cuzco's nobility. His rule was so tcnuous in some
provinces that, according to one chroniclcr, he main-
tainc<l control through thc power ancl charisma of the
Inca govcrnors who had becn placed there. In the early
64
years ofhis rule, Huayna Capac devoted his efforts to es-
tablishing his authority and reconfiguring the relations
among the panacas of Cuzco. La ter, he followed the tra-
dition ofleading the army to war, first consolidating
control of rebellious provinces, and later pushing the
ernpire's border farther north.
The estate Huayna Capac commissioned reflects the
concerns that dominated his life. In particular, it pro-
vided the wherewithal for the especially lavish ritual and
entertaining obligations of a late-Inca king, ancl it in-
cluded architccture designed to inspire second thoughts
in any fractious noble who might have questioned
Huayna Capac's right to rule. His estate, centered at Yu-
cay, covered nearly ten miles of the Urubamba River
(see Figure 4-2). Although the regan had been con-
quered by his grandfather (it is located between Pisac
and Ollantaytambo in the same rivcr valley), the Incas
had not done much to reclaim the meander plain in this
part of the valley. Huayna Capac saw the possibility of
rehabilitating this seemingly worthless swampland, for
to do so would be an unambiguous staternent ofhis po-
sition: his land was fitted in to abut estates created by his
father ( on the eastern boundary) and his grandfather ( on
the western eclge), justas he was fitted into the dynasty
oflnca kings. Further, the task of making the land use-
ful was a job worthy ofhis most ambitious ancestors.
Basing his rnid-sixteenth-century account on native de-
scriptions, Juan de Betanzos writes: "He had the river
moved a long thc si ele [ of the valley J facing Cuzco mak-
ing it stronger ami making a bed where it went. Along
the path of the river the Inca had hills leveled. Thus he
made the valley flat so that it coulcl be plantcd and har-
vestcd. There he hacl houses built and lo<lging where he
could go to enjoy himself" (1996: 170).
The fields that were so preparcd were worked by two
thousand households of retainers settled permanently in
towns built for them. The irnpressive agricultura! works
at the site (sce Figure 4-4) would have arnply supported
the king's entertainment obligations while at the same
time serving as a visible monument to his ability to corn-
mand the labor of the farmers who worked on the ter-
races, and the builders who created them.
The lodgings to which Betanzos refers were similarly
built to imprcss. Though no longer as well prescrvecl as
the palaces Pachacuti built, portions of the cornpound
 INCA ROYAL ESTAYES

4.16 Artist's reconstruction of the exterior of Huayna Capac's palace at Urubamba. Drawing by
Robert N. Batson.

4.17 Artist's reconstruction of the triple-jambed portal into Huayna Capac's palace at
Urubamba. Drawing by Robert N. Batson.

65
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Susan A. Niles

where Huayna Capac and his closest associatcs spent time 4-18). The only other openings in the surrouncling walls
can still be seen. Thc compound is built on a hugc would have been in the oversize windows high in these
tcrrace, its rectangular area delineated on three sides by towers, and in the decorative doorways of the paired
a tall wall (Figure 4.16 ). The pala ce was built within the gatehouses that Hanked it.
walled arca. In contrast to the architecture of Pachacuti, Within the cornpound's peri meter wall, the buildings
in which cut and fittecl stone was commonly used in the of the palace compound were similarly built to irnpress.
most important builclings, here thc majen structures are The north side of the plaza was clominated by a pair of
composed of sun-dricd adobe brick built on stone foun- halls, cach built with a single wide opcning in the wall
dations. Walls were rnud-plastered, and traces ofbright overlooking the plaza (Figure 4.19). Measuring nearly
red pigrnent in protected corners attcst that the entire 144 feet long and 45 feet wide, each structure woulcl
compouncl would have been paintecl. The most interest- have had a gablecl roof with a peak that towered over the
ing feature at the site today is the gateway that provided plaza. This kind of building- and cspecially, its widc
access into the palace compound. The road that ap- end-wall opening-was a triumph oflnca engineering
proached the palace was ramped so that visitors would principies. Its architect devised technical solutions to
pass through it at tenace-leve! (Figure 4.17 ). From the rnake such large buildings stand up; he also used visual
outside, the surrounding wall would have providcd a tricks to make them seem even largcr, by placing them
forbidding facadc. lts central feature, the massive triple- next to smaller buildings and more intimate terraced
jambed portal, was formed by two-story towers (Figure spaces.

4.18 Remains of the adobe towers that fonn the triple-jambed portal at Urubamba. Photo by Susan Niles.

66
 INCA ROYAL ESTA TES

4.19 Artist's reconstruction of the great halls of the northem side of Huayna Capac's palace
compound. Drawing by Robert N. Batson.

There were other buildings in the palace corn- Where Pachacuti reveres nature by bending terraces,
pound- at least one walled courtyard group, anda building groups, and even individual structures to con-
small pair of structures built between the great halls - form to the existing terrain (Figure 4.20), Huayna Ca-
but they are notas well preserved. Still, what can be ob- pac carves a new topography, moving rivers and build-
served reinforces the impression left by the better- ing platforms to accommodatc huge structures. While
preserved gateway and great halls: the buildings on we do not know how Pachacuti might have modified the
Huayna Capac's estate were large and arrayed to focus surfaces ofhis palaces, today their fitted stone walls grow
inward, toward plazas and other constructed spaces; in a seemingly organic way from the bedrock, echoing
they were brightly painted, and they were built solidly, the form of nature. By contrast, Huayna Capac's adobe
using right angles, on artificially created tenaces. The palaces boldly trumpeted their character, their broad
structures were large and colorful, and oriented toward walls brightly painted in colors that contrasted with thc
the central plaza, in the case of the great halls and the hues of the landscape around them. Huayna Capac's ar-
buildings along the surrounding wall, or toward a chitecture uses scale, as well, to assert the triurnph of
smaller plaza, in the courtyard group. the built form. Any pedestrian entering the portal would
Although they are clearly related to the canons of have felt dwarfed by the architecture. By contrast, a visi-
prestigious Inca architecture, Huayna Capac's "lodg- tar to one of Pachacuti's palaces, though surely awed by
ings" are quite different from the palaces designed by his the mastery of materia Is in the buildings, would have
ancestors. lt is instructive to compare his creations to fclt dwarfed by the mountains that were visible from
the palaces built by his grandfather, Pachacuti. Where nearly any point in the compouncl. Significantly, the
Pachacuti chose to build on ridge tops ancl enhance rnost enduring impression Huayna Capac's palace
views of impressive peaks by framing them, Huayna evokes is of thc triumph of culture over nature, while
Capac's palace literally turns its back on the tallest snow Pachacuti's works seem to continue the act of creating
peaks; the impressive views framed by its buildings werc the landscape itself.
not of mountains and rocks, but of human-built spaces. 'Ihe palaces on Inca royal estates exemplify perhaps

67

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Susan A. Nles

4.20 Detail of a building group from Pisac. showing Pachacuti's propensity to conformbuilding groups to the terrain.
Photo by Susan Niles.

.! the most important function of such properties: they the military agenda of the ruler and figuring in the polt-
were places for the ruler to relax and enjoy himself and ica! position of the Incas relative to other groups. Esta tes
to rest in the company of his courtiers. It should be no were also central to the domestic poli tics of the royal
surprisc that the design of these most personal of ere- families of Cuzco, providing the setting for entertain-
ations would reflect the place of the royal owner. It is in ment and the wherewithal for a rulcr to support his de-
such spaces that we come closest to seeing the builder's scendants and to honor his ancestors. For archaeolo- gists,
self-image, and where we can approach an understand- they provide a rich source of information - both
ing of the historical and social challenges that shaped architectural and documentary- that permit us to bet-
him - and, by extension, the structures he created. ter understand the workings of an ancient American
emp1re.
Inca royal estates served varied functions. They were
part of the infrastructure of empire, scrving to sustain

68
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INCA HIGHWAY, EAST FLANK OF MACHU PICCHU

LEGEND

5.1 Plan of the Inca roaci East Flank of Machu Picchu.

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