Nonmarket Imperialism in the Prehispanic Americas: The Inka Occupation of the Titicaca Basin

Abstract

This paper analyzes the expansion of the Inka state into the Lake Titicaca Basin of the south-central Andes. While the expansion of the Inka state can be modeled in general terms as a type of core-periphery transformation typical of all preindustrial empires, I argue that the particular cultural context in which it developed determined the nature of its expansion strategies. This context was characterized by a nonmarket political economy in which reciprocal, redistributive, and nonmarket trade mechanisms predominated. Archaeological and historical data indicate that the Inka occupation was characterized by profound changes in the local political economy in the Titicaca Basin. I argue that the lack of market systems in central Andean society was a key factor that affected the strategies of imperial control in this major Inka provincial territory, promoting highly intrusive labor and population control mechanisms. This historical context differed from other areas of the Prehispanic Americas, such as central Mexico, where market systems promoted tribute-in-kind strategies that involved less intrusive strategies of imperial expansion.