The Development of the Inca State

Brian Bauer's The Development of the Inca State pushes against the standard narrative of the rise of the Inca state. Instead of accepting the c.1438 date and the legendary exploits of Pachacuti against the Chancas and his role in forming the Inca state, Bauer suggests literal interpretations of narratives from the Spanish chronicles contain mytho-historical elements that require careful interpretation and, when possible, archaeological evidence. Thus, instead of viewing the rise of an Inca state and its dominion extending beyond Cuzco during the 15th century reign of Pachacuti, it is likely that the rise of an Inca state was a gradual one that likely developed over centuries. This incipient Inca state may be seen in the Cuzco region, including Paruro (an area whose ethnic groups were part of the Inca by  privilege status), through the widespread appearance of Killke ceramics, certain iconography shared across them, and the persistence of settlement patterns over a period from c.1000-1400 (and beyond) as revealed through ayllus and moiety structures verified by colonial-era administrative reports and ethnographic evidence. 

Indeed, the Incas of Cuzco may have already dominated the valley and nearby regions like Paruro long before Pachacuti and his father in the 1400s. The chapter on ceramic evidence points to the widespread finds of Killke pottery styles in Paruro and across the Cuzco valley to argue that this distribution across a vast region and some of the shared designs and patterns may point to Cuzco domination or rule possibly as early as the 1100s and 1200s. The radiocarbon dates are inconclusive but he also claims from settlement pattern analysis from the so-called Killke period sites to sites he labels as "Inca" (he means imperial Inca from the 1400s on) support the idea that the area of Paruro (including Pacariqtambo) was included within the Inca de Privilegio category. Furthermore, there are practically no Killke sites with fortifications, pushing against the idea that before Incas like Pachacuti or his father, Viracocha, the Cuzco region was torn apart by chronic warfare between different communities. This suggests that the Cuzco region may have already been under the control or influence of Cuzco's rulers in the Killke era, perhaps through nonmilitary means. This subordination of areas like Pacariqtambo's ethnic groups then used the myth of Manco Capac to justify the overlordship of the Incas by blood, who later constructed Maukallaqta to commemorate Manco Capac and the Pacariqtambo origin myth.

Bauer claims at least 8 Inca-period sites in Paruro (by Inca period he means after 1400) were the sites of ayllus relocated by the reducciones of Viceroy Toledo in 1571 or 1572. He further speculates that these are the ayllus of the Tambo group/ethnic group and that moieties and ayllu structures in this region appear to have been continued from the Killke sites/ceramic traditions. Unknown, but incipient state formation could have happened as early as 1000 CE. with a long-term continuity in settlement-subsistence patterns and village level organization. The only Inca period sites with stone monuments appear to have no administrative capacity, suggesting the area of Pacariqtamo and surrounding regions may have long been incorporated into the Inca state. With the imperial period, perhaps Incas by Privilege were then used in the administration of the Empire or resettled in conquered provinces. Yet, there is no evidence of Inca-period resettlements in Paruro, again suggestive of a region that had long been part of the Cuzco state before its imperial phase.