Economic Structures in Inca

Taxation was by labor in the Inca. Agricultural lands were worked by both men and women and
were divided into three classes. One portion was set aside for the government, another for the
gods and religion, and a third part to sustain the people. Government and religious lands were
cultivated first, but each family was allotted enough through the ayllu to keep it comfortably
fed. A labor tax also was levied on textiles, under which both men and women were required to
weave for a certain portion of time for the state with materials provided to them. Another form
of labor taxation was known as mita; this was the obligation on the part of males to work on
roads, irrigation, agricultural terraces, construction projects, and other state projects.
The importance of cloth to Andean cultures has been noted from early times. Among the Inca,
it was the preferred gift and an indicator of status in a way that few cultures have used it. The
major fibers were lama wool in the highlands and cotton on the coast. The finest fabrics were
naturally reserved for the rulers and nobility, whereas commoners wore rough material. One of
the privileges of karakas was their access to the cloth. Large numbers of the storehouses
around and in Inca administrative centers were stuffed with raw wool, cotton, cloth, and
garments. The army used large quantities of clothes, blankets, and tents (Murra 1962).
Additionally,Huge amounts of foodstuffs, manufactured goods, and materials were
accumulated by the state and stored away in special buildings. Karaka officials were allowed to
distribute these supplies to their people in cases of disasters such as crop failures or
earthquakes. Supplies were also built up in this manner for military campaigns. Weapons
dumps were maintained in the administrative centers and certain of the state roadside inns.
The state revenues and surpluses were immense so that the effects of natural or other
catastrophes were probably better dealt with. In the civil wars among the Spanish and Inca
factions that followed the initial Spanish conquest, these large and widely distributed supplies
were used for the various armies. In fact, some scholars argue that the civil wars only came to
an end after ten years when the stored materials ran out