even today people keep guinea pigs in their kitchens where they eat table scraps.
There is no evidence that the Inca exploited them at the empire level; they were
more likely a staple of local people, including the Inca nobility in Cuzco.
Exploiting different ecozones (see Farming), local communities maintained a
nutritious diet, and surpluses were created and used by the Inca Empire. It is
worth noting that when a community could not provide enough food for its
members because of environmental problems, the Incas provided them food
from their storehouses, which the people then repaid when conditions improved.
Thus, the Incas were able to smooth out natural swings in productivity, although
it was also a way to maintain control over their subjects.
Further Reading
D’Altroy, Terence N. The Incas. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Guaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe. The First New Chronicle and Good Government: On the History of the
World and the Incas up to 1615. Translated by Roland Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009
[1615].
■MICHAEL A. MALPASS