provincial storage facilities may have played specifically for the sustenance of
Inca military and corvée labor, or rotating mit’a, forces (see Labor Service).
In addition to forming a basis for several important models of the overall
structures of the Inca political economy, storage facilities have also been used as
a key proxy for the variable presence of the Inca state. Research in southern
Tahuantinsuyu is indicative of this approach; some have argued that the presence
of substantial Inca-style collcas suggests fairly direct political hegemony over
the northern Chilean highlands, while others propose that much smaller-scale
storage components, which follow local templates, demonstrate a more limited
Inca presence in northwestern Argentina.
Restored collcas, or storehouses, above Cuzco’s Urubamba valley. The Incas
often placed storerooms on hillsides to enhance conditions for preservation of
stored goods. Darryl Wilkinson.While the highland model of state collcas outlined so far continues to be
highly influential on discussions of the Inca imperial economy, several key
questions remain to be fully explored. How easily can we draw a simple