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Human Inhabitants Wade Davis on Inca Society "The Incas ruled with absolute power but understood that a people well fed and treated fairly produced more and worked harder than those suffering from injustice and privation. The entire system was based on the enlightened self-interest of a nobility that derived its authority from the gods and its power from the control of the most formidable armies of the known world. Demands on the individual were severe, but predictable and consistent. The state guaranteed freedom from every sort of want and in exchange demanded heavy tribute in labor. This fundamental reciprocity allowed the ruling elite to harness tremendous levies of workers to build the great public works of the empire. Evidence of their tireless works is found everywhere in Peru today: rivers channeled and straightened to liberate precious agricultural land, massive boulders carved into ceremonial pools or decorated with wild facades of iconography, remnants or royal roads, bridges, palaces, and way stations." Wade Davis, One River, 1996 |
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Forest People |
Indigenous Health Lessons from the Maya Forest people plant knowledge A Brief Social History of Borneo Forest people today Tri-country Amerindian summit Indigenous people estimates Varzea vs Terra settlements |
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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2005 |
