Art of the Incas

Inca civilization started as a tribe in the Cuzco, Peru area, where the first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac, created the kingdom of Cuzco. Later, it grew to observe other communities after it became the largest empire. They Incas ruled various region and assigned the trusted leaders to rule. The leader of the Inca offered gifts of luxury goods and promised that all those living in those territories would be materially richer. It is believed that most of the Inca arts were noted down by the Spanish to satisfy their need for gold and silver. The other creations were also destroyed simply because the idea of a polytheistic society was appealing to the Christian responsibility of the Spaniards.

However, there are other forms of art that were able to survive through the law of Spanish. These arts give a valuable glimpse at Inca values and their way of life. The Inca liked easy functionality over ornate decoration in all circumstances except for their textiles. They also liked making sculpt religious porcelain and made architectural surprise that inspired opinions. They made crown jewels, which were made from alpaca and were tortuously woven by hand. They constructed these jewels using geometrical figures and energetic colors. They were used as a consideration to bind political agreements, and as a result, these jewels displayed ethical power in the Inca Empire (Minelli & Bakula 89).

Most of the creation in the Incas did not live the Spanish conquest of Peru. However, the art that which survived decorated a picture of a practical people who appreciated functionality over artistic. However, the Incas creative skill does show up in their tapestries, which became a vital status representation for political leaders of the time. The Incas Empire believed to have three main cultures. The Moche culture, they build enormous pyramids that were believed to be sacred.

Ceramics were the major art form in Moche culture. They invented technology and production with intensive use of copper in order to make items such as ornaments, weapons and tools. The ceramic items that were painted and decorated represented traditional rituals and the sculptural works was also part of the traditional of this culture. The pretty motives of the Moche ceramic included; forms of animals, human life and myths. The other culture was called Chavin culture. The Chavin culture was not a battle like culture, and it was believed to spread it inspiration through peaceful communication.

Chavin people created their tools using gold, silver, copper and some alloys. Their ceramics were painted using colors such as, black, grey and brown. The Chavin believed to create their tools using pottery art work. Their pottery tools looked like cats, eagles and snakes. The pottery was found in many shapes including bottles and bowls. Their techniques in art and decoration included rolls, easy curves, straight lines and pictures of wild animals. Lastly, there was the Chimu culture. It was a federal government with clear boundaries of group and a very complicated bureaucracy. This culture was believed to have workshops that mainly dealt with metal. They produced objects such as; cups, knives, containers and pins. They used textiles with structures and pleats of gold and silver colors to paint their instruments. Textiles were believed to be vital in the Incas Empire thus, they showed communal rank and could also be used as armor. They were used to make construction of rope bridges. The building was mainly constructed using pottery work such as using mud and bricks.

The Incas had a religion which believed in the sun god. The Inca Empire was ruled by a god in whom the Inca ruler was the child of inti, the sun god. The Inca obligated tribute, particularly before and after the struggle, to specific gods. Customary and common events interrupted the workers of the Empire's with nutrition drinks and entertainments. Inti Raymi, the event of the sun god, stayed nine nights, during which Sapa Inca would give a maize alcoholic drink to first inti, then himself, then the nobles, and finally to all people who showed up. The king of the Inca Empire was the one who was following the creation of 'Machu pichu'. It was believed to be a holy place of the Incas and even at the time when it was completed. It was kept secret from other Incas. The place where the city was formed was also the same place that, the building resources for constructing the 'Machu pichu' were extracted. The rock mine could still be found in the city of 'Machu pichu'. This made it easy for the masonries in constructing the stone block.

The Incas used dry stone methods to build the city. The plaster was not used at all in construction of the building. The stone bricks were laid together without any material so as to put them together so that one could not even put a knife between those stones. They also used wooden block methods to cut the rocks. Holes were also made into the rocks and wet wooden blocks were inserted into them. The materials which were used to construct the building were heavy granite stones. The 'Machu pichu' building was built in such a way that, the water ways irrigation was able to run in between the building and at the edges of the city. The roofs of the building were made of the grass. It is believed that, the 'Machu pichu' building was constructed by about 500 people. The building was very strong and could accommodate about 1000 inhabitants.