The woven tunics of the Inca nobility are descended from the Huari tapestry
tunics. Polychrome ceramics and certain vessel forms were introduced by the
Huari. Most importantly, a body of statecraft—invaluable information on state
administration and organization—was the legacy of the Huari that enabled the
formation of the Late Intermediate Period states and ultimately the rise of the
Inca. Indeed, the knotted-string recording devices known as quipus, so
fundamental to Inca statecraft, were first used by Huari peoples.
Following the collapse of both the Huari and Tiahuanaco empires, there
followed a time of great political fragmentation throughout Peru—the Late
Intermediate Period of Rowe’s chronology. The two great imperial states of the
Middle Horizon dissolved into numerous competing kingdoms and chiefdoms.
On the north coast of Peru, the great empire of the Chimú developed beginning
around AD 900 in the territory that was formerly home to the Moche kingdoms.
From their capital city of Chan Chan, the Chimú set out to conquer much of the
Peruvian coast and ultimately controlled several valleys north and south of the
capital. This great empire would ultimately become the principal rival to the
Incas.
In the highlands the situation remained fragmented for a much longer period of
time. In Cuzco, the Inca heartland, numerous small kingdoms competed for
supremacy. By^ the mid-fifteenth century AD, the Inca emerged supreme among
these warring kingdoms and were able to launch their empire by making use of
the knowledge of statecraft and a physical infrastructure they inherited from
their predecessors, especially the Huari, Tiahuanaco, and Chimú empires. The
Late Horizon of Rowe’s chronology corresponds to the dominion of the great
Inca Empire.
Further Reading
Bergh, Susan E., et al. Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes. London: Cleveland Museum of Art/Thames and
Hudson, 2012.
Burger, Richard L. Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992.
Kolata, Alan L. The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1993.
Moseley, Michael. The Incas and Their Ancestors. Rev. 2nd ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 2001.
Rowe, John H. “An Interpretation of Radiocarbon Measurements on Archaeological Samples from Peru.”
In Peruvian Archaeology: Selected Readings, edited by John H. Rowe and Dorothy Menzel, 16–30. Palo
Alto, CA: Peek Publications, 1967.
■GORDON F. MCEWAN
CIEZA DE LEÓN, PEDRO DE