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Quechua planners used resources and knowledge of ancestral cultures. That way they could improve the use of their geography in order to establish a system of human settlements, to create a road network and to improve communications, lodging and supplying substructures (a broad and complete study about this subject was done by Santiago Agurto from which some of this information was taken). It is obvious that Inkan City Planning depended on some elementary aspects, among which we can mention their deep pantheist religion that considered in a very special way their environment: the Pachamama (Mother Earth), the Apus and Aukis (Mountains' and Valleys' Spirits), the Wakas (Temples) framed in Ceques (imaginary lines with Waka successions). City Planning was also consequence of their broad pragmatism and the economic sense that an urban center represented. The Inkas, being a farming society had to reserve the best lands for their main activity without wasting them for temples or villages that were built in rustic terrains. Even inside the towns, the streets were always narrow to take a maximum advantage of the land. City Planning was also determined by some other order and authority elements, with their aforementioned principles of Bi, Tri and Fourth partition, Symmetry, Opposition, Repetition and Subordination. Two parts are found in the urban design of Inkan Qosqo City, Hanan Qosqo and Urin Qosqo (upper and lower Qosqo); four sectors corresponding to the four nations of the Tawantinsuyo; twelve neighborhoods resulting from dividing each sector in three; and the subdivision of each neighborhood in three sub-ones, Collana, Payan and Cayao. Hanan was more important than Urin; while that Chinchaysuyo opposed Collasuyo and Contisuyo to Antisuyo. City Planning had an integrating position too, thus it normally tried to be integrated with nature. That is the reason why the Inkan Society is classified as eminently ecologist. Commonly, inside an urban core its central part was occupied by temples and palaces, while that the peripheries by settlements in a decreasing way considering their importance.
The road network in pre-Hispanic Peru was really impressive for its age. It caused wonder among the first Europeans who visited the Tawantinsuyo and did not hesitate comparing it with that developed by Romans that were the only ones having something of such magnitude in the Old World. The road network had to allow a fast intercommunication between Qosqo and the entire Tawantinsuyo and vice versa. It was intended to get territorial integration, after giving security, relax and supplies for travelers, official suites or the army. It was supposed to allow an efficient production, gathering and redistribution of goods and raise tributary resources. There was a road hierarchy with two important categories: the first category formed by the Inkañan (Inka Road) or royal roads that were, for example, the ones that united Qosqo and the four "Suyos", roads known as Qhapaq Ñan: principal or rich road. The second category was formed by the Runañan (peoples' road) or roads for common people; they served for communications between villages and districts. The road system went over the Tawantinsuyo longitudinal and transversely; all together it reached some 40,000 Kms. (some 25000 miles). This system was constantly supervised by officials following different hierarchies.
A complete system of different services was found over the vast Inkan road network. It was planned in order to allow integration, safety, supplies and relaxation. A part of this system were the Chaski, something like a post crew formed by athletic young relay runners prepared to cover quickly the distance between two Chaskiwasi (chaski's house) that had an average of 2.5 Kms. (1.55 miles). Their aim was to carry messages that could be oral or goods with ideo-graphic meanings such as the Qhipu (Inkan accounting system consisting in multicolored knotted strings).
Another element found on the roads involving services were the Tanpu or Tambo in its Spanish form. They were important villages, economic axles having huge lodges with capacity to serve opportune and efficiently even dozens of thousands of people, with enormous storehouses containing, food, clothing, weapons and tools.
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