Humans used to worship gods, now we worship money. Sadly, we live in a world where gaining income has become more important than some of the other most important things in life such as friendships, connecting with others, and answering the questions that really matter. 

However, it hasn't always been this way. There are many things that we can learn from the wisdom of of our not-so-distant ancestors. During the era of colonialism, the European explorers first established contact with the native tribes of the Americas. 

Although this greatly benefited the world as a whole in terms of agriculture by introducing crops such as avocados, tobacco, cocoa (chocolate), and hundreds of more crops that the world now loves, it also resulted in the demise of cultures which were, in some ways, more advanced than us. 

One of these areas is the perhaps their financial system, another is architecture. 

The Inca Empire's Architecture

The Incas were a group of people that were only around from roughly 1438 to 1533 C.E. This isn't even an entire century. However, many wonders are left behind that many historians attribute to the Incas. The above picture taken in Cusco, for example, shows how precise they were able to carve rocks without metal tools. They also did not have modern machinery and cranes for hauling stones that weighed upwards of 80 tons each. It's also important to note that there was no mortar used to hold the stones together, yet you still can't even slide a credit card between them. 

This picture was taken in Sacsayhuaman, an Inca fortress towering right over modern-day Cusco. Here, we can find some of the largest monoliths that historians still credit to the Inca builders. Most of the stones seen in the picture above can be compared to the rocks we have at the base of the pyramids in Giza. However, the difference is the precise carving with no mortar whatsoever. 

The Coricancha was one of the holiest sites to the Incas. What used to be a palace for the Inca sun god Inti decorated with gold gutters, jewelry, and shrines was later almost completely looted and destroyed. The Spanish Conquistadors left the strong Inca foundation with perfectly carved rocks alone and built a Christian church on top, which still remains today. As we can see in the above picture, the Incas even carved perfectly-sized locks with rocks so that they could pour hot liquid metals such as gold into the cracks and lock certain rocks together. 

At Ollantaytambo, we can find evidence that at least one site attributed to the Incas may have actually been built by their ancestors. On one side, we can find a perfectly-placed and chiseled rock with a key lock for pouring hot metal and locking two stones together. However, we see that the rocks to the left were either placed in a hurry or with no intent of aligning and locking the stone to the right. Of course, this could have been due to the Spanish invasion, but it is difficult to know for sure. 

The Inca Economy

When we look at wonders like Machu Picchu, one of the only sites never destroyed by the Spanish, we start to be more curious. For example, the Intihuatana at this site actually aligns with celestial events and solstices. This means that the people who constructed Machu Picchu, and all previously shown wonders, were much more conscious and intelligent about their construction than we might like to admit. 

To construct architecture like the Incas did today we would need a lot of money. Of course, we could probably re-create many of their wonders today if we really wanted to. All we need to do is pay the right companies who have metal tools and big cranes for hauling stones. 

No Money, No Traders

However, the Incas did not even have money. Nor did they barter or trade with anyone who was one of them. This means that they traded with foreign tribes, but anyone who was an Inca did not have to worry about basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. 

The Inca economy thrived on thing in particular, the mit'a. The Incas were a wealthy people who had all that they needed. However, what any wealthy economy needs is more labor so that they can build houses, roads, and so on. The mit'a system required all Inca citizens to volunteer a set number of days which was as low as 65 days a year during the peak of Inca rule.

In other words, the Incas had a system where everyone provided for each other and looked out for each other. Nobody worked a 9 - 5 for 5 days a week. Nobody racked up credit card and/or student debt only to work the rest of their life paying it off. In fact, life under the Inca empire is still today referred upon by Peruvian locals nostalgically as a spiritual and economic boom that was sadly destroyed by the Spanish invaders. 

More Information:

In my book "The Historian's Guide to the Ruins in Peru" you can find 140 pages of information backed by scholarly sources on topics like this. This includes a detailed analysis of the spiritual beliefs of the shamanistic Native Americans, all the theories harbored by historians and intellectuals as to how the Incas constructed the monolithic structures, and how to see the top ruins in Peru for cheap.

If anything, go to Peru and see for yourself the countless knowledge and treasures lost in history.