Representations of western Amazonian indians on Inca colonial qeros

Abstract

This article proposes to put together an iconographical analysis of Inca colonial qeros, offering an insight into Inca history where one can observe, in visual format, one of the media of expression the Incas used in order to disseminate their values and traditions and, in the ultimate instance, their ideology. A remarkable number of qeros portray scenes of battle between Incas and western Amazonian Indians (or Antis), often with Amazonian fauna and flora forming a backdrop. It seems that from all the four corners of Tahuantinsuyu, the Antisuyu (the Amazonian part of the Inca empire) is the quarter that holds a very special place when it comes to the imagery on Inca wooden vases known as qeros. Bearing this in mind, we shall analyse some of these wooden vases in order to better understand the images of the Antisuyu and its inhabitants which the Incas chose to project through this particular medium.