page_title: Inca society
section_title: Clothing
hierarchical_section_title: Inca society / Arts / Clothing
context_page_description: The Inca society was the society of the Inca civilization in Peru. The Inca Empire, which lasted from 1438 to 1533 AD, represented the height of this civilization. The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cusco before 1438. Over the course of the empire, the rulers used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centred on the Andean mountain ranges. The empire proved relatively short-lived, however: by 1533, Atahualpa, the last Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, was killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The last Inca stronghold, the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
context_section_description: Inca officials wore stylized tunics that indicated their status. It contains an amalgamation of motifs used in the tunics of particular officeholders. For instance, the black and white checkerboard pattern topped with a pink triangle is believed to have been worn by soldiers of the army. Some of the motifs make reference to earlier cultures, such as the stepped diamonds of the Huari and the three-step stairstep motif of the Moche.
  Cloth was divided into three classes. Awaska was used for household use, and usually made from llama wool. Finer cloth, qunpi, was divided into two classes: The first, woven by male qunpikamayuq (keepers of fine cloth) from alpaca wool, was collected as tribute from throughout the country and was used for trade. The other class of qunpi ranked highest. It was woven in the Acllawasi (acllahuasi) by "aclla" (female virgins of the sun god temple) from vicuña wool and used solely for royal and religious use.  These had thread counts of 300 or more per inch, unsurpassed anywhere in the world, until the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.
  Aside from the tunic, a person of importance wore a llawt'u, a series of cords wrapped around the head. To establish his importance, the Inca Atahualpa commissioned a llawt'u woven from vampire bat hair. The leader of each ayllu, or extended family, had its own headdress.
  In conquered regions, traditional clothing continued to be worn, but the finest weavers, such as those of Chan Chan, were transferred to Cusco and kept there to weave qunpi. (The Chimú had previously transferred these same weavers to Chan Chan from Sican.)
  The Incan government controlled all clothing of their society. One would receive two outfits of clothing, one formal and one casual pair, and they would then proceed to wear those same outfits until they could literally be worn no longer. Since the government was in such strict control on their clothing, the Incas could not alter their clothing without the permission of the government.
caption: Inca tunic
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