The research reveals a different side to the Incas, who are often better remembered for their notorious blood lust and predilection for human sacrifice. But portraying them as environmentalists does not negate their less attractive characteristics.
"We're not projecting that there are perfect cultures," says Barreiro. "But our focus was to drop the macabre and look at the other 90% of life, how it was organised and the genius and the impetus of the Incas to carry out this particular task [of building the road]."
He says Inca society was certainly "strict" but at its heart was a philosophy of reciprocity. The Incas gave back to nature and everybody knew their role in the community.
"The entire environment was alive. Everything from the stones to the animals to the cosmos needed some kind of interaction with a human being in prayer, connectivity or appreciation.
"Everything was organised and regulated by the state. You had the masters of the road, the masters of the bridges, thekhipu - a knotted device that kept track of people on the road, products, organised censuses of people and news from everywhere in the empire."
Examples of the khipu and 140 other objects - some more than 2,000 years old - are included in the exhibition to help illustrate the development of the Inca Road and its spiritual concepts.
The research reveals a different side to the Incas, who are often better remembered for their notorious blood lust and predilection for human sacrifice. But portraying them as environmentalists does not negate their less attractive characteristics."We're not projecting that there are perfect cultures," says Barreiro. "But our focus was to drop the macabre and look at the other 90% of life, how it was organised and the genius and the impetus of the Incas to carry out this particular task [of building the road]."He says Inca society was certainly "strict" but at its heart was a philosophy of reciprocity. The Incas gave back to nature and everybody knew their role in the community."The entire environment was alive. Everything from the stones to the animals to the cosmos needed some kind of interaction with a human being in prayer, connectivity or appreciation."Everything was organised and regulated by the state. You had the masters of the road, the masters of the bridges, thekhipu - a knotted device that kept track of people on the road, products, organised censuses of people and news from everywhere in the empire."Examples of the khipu and 140 other objects - some more than 2,000 years old - are included in the exhibition to help illustrate the development of the Inca Road and its spiritual concepts.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
