Buildings, Roads, & Bridges
The Inca buildings used no mortar to hold the massive stone blocks together. The stone masons would cut and carve the stone blocks so they fit perfectly. They would use tools made out of harder stone than the stone they were carving or chisels made out of bronze. The stone blocks would usually not be cut in smooth, straight lines or shapes to have them fit tighter. The walls would always lean in to resist damage of earthquakes and absorb the shock. The windows were shaped as trapezoids. The Incas repaired buildings with llanco, a sticky, red, water-repellent clay. Peasants would live in adobe and stone block huts. The roof of the hut was made of ichu, which was a coarse, wild reed that was water resistant. The huts had no windows and only one door to conserve heat. Since the often clay fireplace had no chimney, overtime the walls of the huts became black with soot.
There were two main roads, the lowland and the highland or royal road. The lowland road traveled along the coast for 3,000 miles. It began in the north at the Gulf of Guayquil in Ecuador and ended in the south at the Maule River in Chile. The highland or royal road was almost 4,000 miles long. It began near Quito, Ecuador and ended near Tucumán, Argentina. Off of those two main roads were small, shorter roads. Every road was paved with stone. Bigger stones marked intervals and rest stops called tambos were established every 15 to 30 miles. This rest stops had corrals for llamas and the caretakers would give travelers food such as corn and beans.
To cross the many marshes, gorges, streams, and rivers, builders built suspension bridges made out of woven sticks, cable lines with primitive cable cars, and floating bridges that were made out of totora reeds. Also, roadways were built on top of huge blocks of stone to cross swamps or marshes. The roads were kept drained by stone culverts.
There were two main roads, the lowland and the highland or royal road. The lowland road traveled along the coast for 3,000 miles. It began in the north at the Gulf of Guayquil in Ecuador and ended in the south at the Maule River in Chile. The highland or royal road was almost 4,000 miles long. It began near Quito, Ecuador and ended near Tucumán, Argentina. Off of those two main roads were small, shorter roads. Every road was paved with stone. Bigger stones marked intervals and rest stops called tambos were established every 15 to 30 miles. This rest stops had corrals for llamas and the caretakers would give travelers food such as corn and beans.
To cross the many marshes, gorges, streams, and rivers, builders built suspension bridges made out of woven sticks, cable lines with primitive cable cars, and floating bridges that were made out of totora reeds. Also, roadways were built on top of huge blocks of stone to cross swamps or marshes. The roads were kept drained by stone culverts.