'Road of Power'

NMAI highlights ancient Andean road exhibit

WASHINGTON
At the height of its power, the Inka Empire controlled most of the western portion of South America – a massive span of jungles, peaks and coasts along the magnificent Andean mountain ranges.

To navigate this territory, the Inka built more than 25,000 miles of roads, including stretches that are still in use nearly 500 years after the empire’s fall. The road, known as Qhapaq Nan, or “road of power,” still functions as a series of living roads for indigenous people in the Andes. It also serves as a reminder of a highly organized American empire that was unmatched in its time.
“Today, almost 500 communities still use it,” said Ramiro Matos, co-curator of a new exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian. “Today, for them, it’s still the road for interaction, for trading, for llama caravans and donkeys. The road is still working for the people.”
Matos is originally from the highlands of Peru and a native speaker of the Andean language Quechua. He and co-curator Jose Barreiro spent seven years researching the road for the exhibit, “The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire,” which runs at the NMAI until June 2018.

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