Containment urban planning
Introduction
In the Inca Empire, a tambo (from the Quechua tanpu, which means temporary accommodation) was an enclosure located next to an important road used by itinerant state personnel as a shelter and as a collection center for administrative and military purposes.[1] Its importance lies in the fact that the tambos are the buildings with the greatest presence throughout the Inca Empire. The Inca Trail (Qhapaq Ñan) had tambos 20 or 30 km away (one day's walk on foot) from each other. Its main function was to house the chasquis (emissaries) and the Inca officials who traveled these roads. There is no information if they housed ordinary travelers. People from nearby communities were recruited to serve in the dairy farms as part of the work system called mita.[2].
In addition to serving as shelter, it is known that the dairy farms were collection centers for food, wool, firewood or other basic food materials. In this way, in times of climatic hardship or natural disasters, the dairy farms fed and provided some materials for the population of the nearest villages. As agriculture was the main source of food for the inhabitants of the Inca Empire, the administration established these places as a warehouse where food could be stored in case of emergency, thus ensuring the supply of the population.[3].
Features and functions
The Incas built many dairy farms when they began to expand the Qhapaq Ñan during the reign of Túpac Yupanqui from 1471 to 1493.[4] Researchers estimate that there were 2,000 or more dairy farms.[4] Given this number, the wide variety of sizes and functions of dairy farms is difficult to fully describe.[2] At a minimum, dairy farms had housing, cooking facilities, and storage silos called collcas") (qullqas).[5] Beyond this, there is a considerable amount of variation between different tambos. Some tambos were little more than simple inns, while others were essentially cities that provided temporary accommodation for travellers.[5] Furthermore, there are no clear markers distinguishing large tambos from towns or small administrative centres.[6] Architecture and documentary evidence suggest that the functional sizes of the settlements probably corresponded to their capacity to house a population. population.[7].
The functions of the tambos depended on their size and the facilities they contained.[2] Each tambo had the capacity to house several state officials.[5] For example, smaller tambos served as relay stations for the chasquis.[5][8] Larger tambos could also provide other functions. For example, larger tambos had larger warehouses that could provide supplies and some accommodations for armies on the move. This function, however, should not be confused with that of the collcas, which were just warehouses from which armies were resupplied as they passed. The larger, more luxurious tambos were generally used to house the traveling Inca and their entourage (typically wives and officials). state).[5][8].