Inka Engineering Symposium 6: Road Construction Technologies

See on Scoop.it – 500 Nations

In Part 6 of Engineering the Inka Empire: A Symposium on Sustainability and Ancient Technologies, Christine Fiori and Cliff Schexnayder present Road Construction Technology in the High Cordillera. The engineers of the Inka Empire had a unique consciousness of nature, with construction skills founded in lessons learned from careful observation of the power of nature. The Inka Road demonstrates the superior Inka understanding of nature. Built without the use of iron, the wheel, or stock animals, it represents important milestones in the development of civil engineering knowledge. The road’s creators understood the fundamental laws of nature and employed impressive engineering strategies in response to the challenges presented by the aggressive physical geography of western South America.

The Inka Road, or Qhapaq Ñan, in scale alone is one of man’s monumental engineering achievements. This engineering masterpiece rests on careful attention to the power of water, the energy expended by the users of the road (man and llama), and the energy required to construct the road. Keeping these concepts in mind, with the support of the University of Piura, Peru, and the assistance of Professor Luis Gerardo Chang Recavarren, the researchers investigated the construction techniques employed by the Inkas in the building of the road. Ground penetrating radar technology was employed to assess the subsurface structure of the road, slopes were measured, and grade and width were verified to understand the construction methods utilized. The investigation of the various methods to control water and erosion helped in developing an understanding of why the road has endured for centuries

See on www.youtube.com