Encyclopedia of the Incas

an English-speaking audience. We hope to provide a Spanish translation, for
which other sources may be added, in the not-too-distant future.
At the other end of the spectrum of inclusiveness, we have tried to avoid
identifying topics for entries that are so broad that one would need to write an
entire book about a selected topic in order to do it justice. The exceptions to this
guideline are certain wide-ranging topics—that is, religion, architecture, farming
—that indeed have been treated in many book-length studies, but which must be
included in any encyclopedia that would pretend to have adequate coverage of
the major features of a civilization. These latter topics are covered in entries
written by experts who have provided comprehensive, yet concise, overviews.
Thus, in drawing up a list of topics for entries, we have aimed generally at a
middle ground, by selecting topics for entries that have considerable substance
and which can be reasonably covered in one, two, or in some cases, several
pages of text.
In order to make this encyclopedia not only comprehensive, but also a
manageable tool for gaining deeper knowledge about the Incas and their
civilization, we have provided readers with four resources for navigating the
entries; these include: (1) a thematic table of contents, (2) cross-referencing
within entries, (3) suggestions for further reading at the end of each entry, and
(4) a comprehensive index. The thematic table of contents, which follows the
general, alphabetical table of contents at the beginning of this work, is intended
to aid the reader in identifying both the broad topics covered in this work, as
well as the individual entries that fall under those general headings or “themes.”
As for cross-references, these take two forms in this encyclopedia. If an item
mentioned in an entry is covered in its own entry, we have highlighted the latter
entry identification in bold print (e.g., “The chronicler Bernabé Cobo discusses
this matter extensively”). On the other hand, if cross-referencing to a second
entry is appropriate, but the topic of that entry is not mentioned, we supply a
callout to the relevant entry “(see Cobo, Bernabé).” We hope that the frequent
use of these two modes of cross-referencing entries will provide readers with
effective means for navigating the encyclopedia, following up the reading of one
entry by reference to other relevant entries.
The “further reading” list at the end of each entry indicates the basic texts and
other resources—printed or digital—that readers may wish to pursue in order to
deepen their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of that entry.
Recognizing that the majority of our readers will be English-speakers, we have
restricted most (though not all) of the references to English-language resources.