Metals for the Inka: mining, power, and religion in Qullasuyu

Abstract

Incan expansion into the Andean highlands located to the south of Cuzco was a movement of capital importance in the consolidation of Tawantinsuyo. This southward extension permitted access to greater and more diverse economics resources, exponentially increasing labor forces, and establishing new strategic alliances with peoples and nations, who became involved in the imperial project and participated actively, in their turn, in the conquest of new territories. Articulating recent archaeological data with information provided by documentary sources from the beginning of the Colonial Period (XVI and XVII centuries) and ethnohistorical studies, this work analyzes the southern expansion of the Inkas and their establishment in the Qullasuyu in relation to the exploitation of the mines and the production of metals. First, we address the relevant characteristics of mining and metallurgy in the region before and after the establishment of the Inkas. We base this discussion on our research carried out in different regions of the Bolivian highlands (Potosí-Porco, Oruro, Pulacayo, Intersalar Region), and on the research of others in northern Chile and Argentina. From this, we focus on the high degree of development and sophistication achieved by local populations in the production of metals; much of their knowledge and metallurgical technologies were considered by the Inkas to be resources as important as like the mines themselves. We discuss the mitmakuna movements associated with mining and metallurgy activities, mostly involving populations from the Collao region (Canas and Canchis, Qulla, Lupaqa and Pacaxa), and their participation in the consolidation of a vast territoriality. Finally, we approach the symbolic and religious dimensions of the production of metals and their relations with the cults of the mountains and mineral wak´a, elements that had a particular relevance in the conformation and characterization of the Qullasuyu.