​Tribute

​The Inca did not use any form of money. Like the Aztecs, they had a

tribute, or tax, system. The government collected tribute in two ways.

1. people paid with crops, pottery, textiles, and gems.

​Tribute

​​2. For a month, every common man had to serve in the army, in the mines, or in construction - building roads, temples, and palaces.

​Roads

​The Inca road were very well built. They belonged to the government. The Incas never invented the wheel. Yet, in less than a hundred years, the Incas built over 14,000 miles of road. Roads connected every piece of the empire.

​Roads

​The roads were used by the nobles, the military, the roadrunners (the Inca postmen) and by traders who had received permission. There were road signs along the road, so for those who could use the road, you always knew where you were.

​Roads

​The common people were not allowed to use them unless they had special permission from the government to do so. If a commoner used the roads without permission, they were tossed off a mountain.

​Roads

​These roads were so well built that many of the Inca roads are still in use today.

​

​

​How old are these roads that were built in 1428?

​Road runners

​

Many young boys in the Inca Empire dreamed of one day becoming a mailman. Only the best were chosen. Potential mailmen had to work hard to achieve their goal. They had to attend a special school that taught them how to be mailmen. The mailmen in the Inca Empire had to be physical fit, good listeners, with great memories. They ran the roads, carrying messages.  

​Road runners

It was each runner’s job to run a mile or two down the road. As he approached the next relay station, the runner blew loudly on a conch shell to alert the next runner to get ready. The next runner would appear, running along side him.

​Road Runners

​Without stopping, the first runner told the second runner the message. The second runner speeded ahead until he reached the next relay station. And so it went, from one point in the empire to another. The mail system was a system of relay runners.  

​Road Runners

This relay system was so effective that runners could move messages at a rate of about 250 miles a day. Without runners, controlling the vast Inca Empire would have been next to impossible. With the runners, news and orders traveled rapidly and accurately from one end of the empire to the other.