The Development and Variation of Inca Architecture

Abstract

The earliest Europeans in the Andes marveled at the quality of Inca masonry and the engineering of imperial infrastructure. Hiram Bingham’s rediscovery of Machu Picchu brought international attention to Inca architecture, and in recent decades, scholars have begun to place the most elaborate Inca constructions into a broader context. Inca architecture is found at special sites, including royal estates, administrative sites on the royal road networks, and religious shrines. Much of the finest Inca construction is found in the Cuzco region, where several structural types can be discerned. Beyond the capital region, Inca architecture appears in a wide range of hybrid structures, as well as in design features that echo the elite buildings of Cuzco. Although the finest Inca constructions were built of stone, other materials were used to build and roof imperial buildings, and the use of adobe and other materials connotes status and stylistic variations across the empire.