Inca Art
Pottery
Inca civilization was incredibly advanced, especially in pottery making. Inca pottery was some of the most
unique, practical, and beautiful pottery of its time. Inca pottery was generally symmetrical, and was made with
utmost care to detail. Although the pottery was usually made for a practical purpose, like storing food or water
or maize beer, each piece of pottery was also a piece of artwork. The Inca almost never left any surface of their
pottery unpolished, unpainted, or unfinished in any way, no matter what or who the vessel was designed for.
The Incas started out with the advantage of resources: The Andes, and especially
the area around Cuzco, had very fine clay, perfect for ceramics. The Inca potters did
not use pottery wheels; they shaped their pottery by hand, sometimes with the
help of smooth stones or molds of plates.
Inca pottery was generally geometrically and conventionally shaped. Inca pottery
almost always had one of a small number of different patterns. These often used
patterns included squares within squares, rows of triangles, crosshatching, parallel
lines, or even a necklace design of ovals hanging from a cord, which might have
represented the crown of the Incas. Crosshatching, which is especially common on
pottery handles, is probably reminiscent of the appearance of ancient basketry.
While many other ancient Peruvian cultures sculpted the human form
extensively, there are virtually no Inca statues or resemblances of the
human body. One conclusion that can be made from this is that the Inca
deemed it improper to use the human body for decorative purposes.
Instead of painting human forms on their pottery, the Inca tended
toward geometric shapes, or animals, usually ones common to the
Andes, like birds, jaguars, llamas, alpacas, butterflies, or bees.
Sometimes the animals were painted on, other times potters attached
animal heads made of clay to their pots, like the one above.
One of the most famous and characteristically Inca pots is known as the
Cuzco bottle, like the one pictured to the right. Cuzco bottles generally
had a large, round bases, thin necks, and handles. They were made with
coils that were then blended together once the shape was completed.
The identifying feature of a Cuzco bottle is the pointed base, which
ensures that the pot can be embedded in the ground and will not be
tipped over or spilled. Cuzco bottles were generally used to hold liquids, like water, or chicha. Chicha was a
type of fermented maize beer, which was often used in ceremonies.
The beauty and usefulness of Inca pottery demonstrate the incredible advancement and sophistication of the
Inca society. Inca potters were smart, innovative, and cared a lot about the beauty and artfulness of their
creations. Inca pottery definitely contributed to the rise of the Inca empire and was one of the reasons it
became so great. The Incas were renowned for their pottery prowess back then, and are still known for it
today.
Weaving
Surprisingly, the Inca government was in
charge of all manufactured textiles. The
government had certain houses similar to
factories called Acllahuasi. Here, certain
men called tanticamayoc were in charge of
dyeing the wool. The many dyes used to
color the fabric were made of minerals,
plants, insects, and sometimes animal
parts. Another group,
the cumbicamayoc, was responsible for
the making of the textiles. They informed
the acllas, or weaving women, what kind
of textile had to be produced and who it
would be made for. Many acllas became
wives of Inca generals and sometimes
were even offered as sacrifices to the
Gods.
Inca Handmade Tunic
Clothing played a critical part in the social
status of the Inca. The royal Incas and the high ranking officials wore clothing woven from alpaca, viscachas,
vicunas, and human hair. In general most clothing was made form llama wool, and cotton. The most important
element of Inca clothing was being able to communicate where a person came from, their position or duty to
society, and membership with community. Clothing was considered the greatest gift in Inca society and it is
believed that many of the patterns and symbols represented more than what archeologist and historians will
ever understand.
However what historians do know is that the Inca clothing had a strong religious
relevance. Inca priest had to wear special clothing that described their
relationship to the Gods. Tocapus and fine textiles were even offered to the
Gods as sacrifice because they were so greatly valued within the Inca society.
Inca clothing was made with a waist loom that could be hung from the wall.
They created three different primary textiles the first was Cosi, second Auasca,
and third the Cumbi. The Cosi was simple and had no decoration, it was mainly
used for blankets. The Auasca was also a simple textile used to produce clothing
for daily use, and contained the colors, style, and proper images for the person
that will use it. The final type of textile was the Cumbi, used only to create Inca
clothing for authorities, royal family, priests and the Inca king.
The Unku, was the standard shape of clothing for both men and women. It was
a rectangular shaped robe, with a hole on the center top for the head, and two holes Inca Waist Loom
left and right for the arms. There were no sleeves, and seams ran up the sides until
the knees. The Unku is almost exactly like a poncho except that it has to holes in the side for the arms.
Special unkus made of cumbi textiles were call Tocapus. Each tocapu would contain intricate ideograms and
complex geometrical shapes. A tocapu would explain the genealogy or history of the person wearing it with
these symbols alone. A tocapu could contain up to two hundred fibers in each small square making them some
of the most perfect textiles ever made in comparison to Europe and Asia.
Gold
Gold was one of the most important and sacred
materials the Inca used. The Incas actually called gold
"the sweat of the sun". The sun god was the most
important Inca deity, and they believed that this precious
metal came directly from this god. Not only did the Inca
value gold, they also had a lot of it. All of the South
American cultures revered gold, but the Incas probably
had the most.
Gold was a huge part of the daily lifestyle of the Inca.
Royal men or those of high rank work large earplugs
made of gold as signs of their nobility. These large ear
pieces were called pacu, which actually led to one of the
Ancient Peruvian Mask of Gold
names of the Inca warriors: pacuyoc. Later, when the
Spanish conquistadors encountered these noblemen,
they called them orejónes, meaning "long ears". Royal women, too, wore gold as signs of their status. Women
of nobility fastened their clothing with large gold pins called tupus, and also wore gold jewelry.
Gold was also used for vessels to hold food (though probably only for the very wealthy; common people
probably used clay pottery, which was less expensive). Gold was used to make jewelry and religious objects,
including ceremonial tools, decorations for the temples, and religious sculptures. The Inca gold was so widely
known that it was traded from all over South America. Archaeologists have found gold artifacts from as far
away as the Brazilian Coast and Panama.
Although the Inca gold demonstrated the immense wealth of the empire, it contributed more to the fall of the
Incas than to the rise. The Spaniards captured the Inca Empire because they wanted the Inca gold for
themselves. If the Inca had not had such a mass of gold, they might not have attracted so much attention from
the conquistadors. One of the first Spanish conquistadors to enter the Inca Empire was Francisco Pizarro. Upon
seeing the huge wealth of gold in the capitol city Cuzco, Pizarro coveted it for his own. In the end, he held
Atahualpa hostage until he received the treasure. Atahualpa agreed to fill his prison cell with gold, and the two
adjoining rooms with silver, in return for his freedom.
The Incas were true to their word, and huge amounts of gold were shipped in from all over the Inca Empire.
However, Pizarro grew impatient and murdered Atahualpa before he recieved all of the ransome. At the same
time, Rumiñahui, a top Inca general, was leading a caravan carrying 750 tons of gold objects. Upon hearing of
the murder of Atahualpa, Rumiñahui angrily hid the treasure deep within the uninhabitable Llanganate
mountains of Ecuador. Some claim this massive treasure is still hidden somewhere among the jagged cliffs of
the Llanganates. In fact, many modern treasure hunters have searched for the lost Inca gold, but most have
met their death along the way, keeping this legend steeped in danger and mystery.
http://incadigitalmuseum.wikispaces.com/Artifact+4-Inca+Pottery
http://incadigitalmuseum.wikispaces.com/Artifact+7-Inca+Textiles
http://incadigitalmuseum.wikispaces.com/Artifact+3-Inca+Gold