Aproximación a la imagen real de "los incas de privilegio"

Abstract

Approach to the True Image of the "Incas by Privilege"

This study aims at clarifying the identity of one special social category in the Inca state, "the Incas by privilege". Historians and cultural anthropologists have argued that the Incas by privilege played a part in the maintenance of domination by the Incas, but they do not explain the reason(s) for the existence of this category of people. This is due to the scarcity and ambiguity of information about them in the historical documents. However, in order to clarify the historical processes of the territorial expansion of the Inca state, it is essential to advance research on the social and political function of the Incas by privilege. This study undertakes such an analysis by discussing some of the central characteristics of this group of people as they are described and characterized in the chronicles.