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History of the Inca Realm

María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco

4.07 · Rating details · 121 ratings · 11 reviews

History of the Inca Realm is a classic work of ethnohistorical research that has been both influential and provocative in the field of Andean prehistory. Maria Rostworowski uses a great variety of published and unpublished documents and secondary works by Latin American, North American, and European scholars to examine topics such as the mythical origins of the Incas, the ...more

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Hardcover, 270 pages

Published November 28th 1998 by Cambridge University Press (first published 1988)

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Jun 24, 2017 Pablo Flores rated it liked it · review of another edition

Un libro lleno de datos que podrían haber sido presentados de manera más clara y amena, más como una "historia" y menos como una disertación académica, pero en último término muy útil para comenzar a comprender algo tan complejo como el estado inca y su contexto temporal y cultural, lejos de las narrativas fáciles que combinan ideas europeas de "imperio" con mitos como el del supuesto "comunismo" de los incas, y fundamental también para entender la fragilidad de este estado ante la llegada de lo ...more

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Jan 27, 2019 Angie Alexandra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excelente Libro que nos habla de las costumbres, conflictos y creencias que tuvieron en el imperio Incaico. Un acercamiento a la cultura peruana. Sí deseas saber más sobre la época del Tahuantinsuyo este es el libro.

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Mar 08, 2017 Martín Alvarez added it · review of another edition

Obra ejemplar de las gran María.

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Nov 16, 2019 DIEGO KEVIN rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The History of Tahuantinsuyo is a book that try to teach us the real history of the last native culture in Peru. Further, how wrong we are about some information we learned in school and -at least for me- this was the most important knowledge that I gained from reading this book. So, I going to write some of the most contradictory datas that I discovered thanks to the book.
First, every time I thought in the Incanato I imagined a great empire with a clear economy and submission to the Inca. The The History of Tahuantinsuyo is a book that try to teach us the real history of the last native culture in Peru. Further, how wrong we are about some information we learned in school and -at least for me- this was the most important knowledge that I gained from reading this book. So, I going to write some of the most contradictory datas that I discovered thanks to the book.
First, every time I thought in the Incanato I imagined a great empire with a clear economy and submission to the Inca. The part of the economy wasn´t too much far of the reality, though. But the submission that I understood as completely real didn´t exist. When the Spanish arrived to Peru, they found a very young empire, which just was beginning to getting form. The inkas´d defeated the chankas less than one hundred years ago and was with that victory that they beginning their expansion.
The war in Old Peru was different than we thought. What we know about old wars is always under a European vision. We thought in bloody battles on a battlefield, but in the Old Peru most of the time what they did were exchanges. I guess there wasn´t a spirit of conquest, it´s seems to me they just wanted to help them live better, even when this sounds romantic or cheesy. So, for made this exchanges inkas needed a lot of products and for obtained these products, they needed more workhand. The only way for increased their workforce was raised their influence throughout Old Peru. It meant many trips for them and that´s put them in a bad mood, because for they their land was really important and be far of it must have been really painful.
In addition, the rules about the succession weren´t clear and the most dangerous moment occurred with the death of Pachacutec. It was the trigger of the civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa and what reduced the army and put in a state of confusion the entire empire: no one won that war, even though when Atahualpa obtained the mascaipacha. This war caused the death of Huascar by orders of Atahualpa and the death of Huascar was the crime that condemned Atahualpa.
In conclusion, now I have a better and -I hope- clearer idea that how was the incanato at the time Spanishs arrived. I´m surprised because I thought I knew really well the Perú´s history, but now I know I need to contrast the information I get. As a result, I enjoyed reading the book and learn a lot about the incas and the context of the Conquest; but my greatest learning was that we don´t know the history of what or how the fall of inkas happened and every year a new discovery appears that could change everything that we understand as an absolute truth, and this works for everything.
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Apr 08, 2019 Jim Peñaloza rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A pesar que el libro es muy interesante, con muchos datos productos de una investigación profunda en base a los documentos de los cronistas es muy aburrido, enrevesado, lleno de datos y referencias que complican la lectura. Un ejemplo claro son las laminas finales que no tienen relación con lo expuesto en el libro.

En general se puede aprender temas interesante sobre la Historia del Tahuantinsuyo pero en verdad la manera de exponerlo es aburrido y difícil de entender. Una lastima por que esto lo ...more

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Sep 13, 2016 Juan Eduardo Castellon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Tuve la suerte de conocer Perú y visitar Machu Picchu hace unos meses, y me enamoré del lugar. Volviendo a Lima, lo primero que hice fue buscar una librería y comprar un libro sobre la historia y organización del imperio Inca. El dueño del negocio me recomendó éste y creo que fue la mejor elección. Es muy interesante todo lo que cuentan, desde un punto de vista objetivo y basado en descubrimientos arqueológicos, registros históricos e historias de "boca en boca" que han traspasado generaciones. ...more

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Jul 25, 2016 Dave rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This little book is not an easy read. It is a bit dense and requires a little familiarity with the general history of the Inca. And, its straightforward coverage of Andean social structure and economics, heavily cited, made for slow going. But, there are fascinating details that both celebrate the ingenuity of Andean culture and take a bit of the air out of the Incas themselves. The author portrays the empire as strong and feared but not well developed and with some fatal flaws that, along with ...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Carlos Belotti rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An up to date history of the Inca Empire. Written from an anthropological point of view,the book explores the myths and facts around the origins of the Tawantisuyu, the structural causes behind its expansion and the civil wars for succession that took place after the death of every ruler since Pachacutec. It also has lengthy sections about the workings of Incan hegemony, like the manipulations of reciprocity ideology of Central and South Andes,the organization of work, social classes, imperial f ...more

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May 31, 2014 Antonio Sacin added it · review of another edition

Very interesting work that leads to one hypothesis: could it be that the logistical needs imposed by the barter economic system in the Andes gave rise to the unique government and Technology of the Incas?

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Jan 05, 2012 Bruno rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is one of the most read books about the Inca Empire in the last years. I highly recommend it

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Mar 16, 2020 Gabriel Zamudio rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Muy buen libro, bastante bien documentado con crónicas y documentos coloniales.

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About María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco

María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco

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María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco (pronunciado /rostvoróvski/ en fonética española; Barranco, Lima, 8 de agosto de 1915 - Lima, 6 de marzo de 2016) fue una historiadora e investigadora social del Perú, famosa por sus amplios y detallados estudios sobre las culturas prehispánicas del Perú y el Imperio Inca.