Tambo (Incan structure)

A tambo (Quechua: tampu, "inn") was an Incan structure built for administrative and military purposes. Found along Incan roads, tambos typically contained supplies, served as lodging for itinerant state personnel, and were depositories of quipu-based accounting records. Individuals from nearby communities within the Inca empire were conscripted to serve in the tambos, as part of the mit'a labor system.

The Incas built many of their tambos when they began to upgrade the road system during the reign of Thupa Inka Yupanki from 1471 to 1493. Scholars estimate that there were 2,000 or more tambos. Given this amount, the sheer variety of tambo size and function are hard to fully describe. At a minimum, tambos would contain housing, cooking facilities, and storage silos called qullqas. Beyond this, a considerable amount of variation between different tambos exists. Some tambos were little more than simple inns, while others were essentially cities that provided temporary housing for travelers. Further, there are no clear markers that distinguish larger tambos from villages or small administrative centers. Architecture and documentary evidence suggest that the functional sizes of the settlements probably corresponded to their capacity to house a population.

The functions of the tambos were dependent on their size as well as the facilities they contained. Every tambo had the capacity to house various state officials. For example, the smallest tambos served as relay stations for the chasquis, who were state messengers who ran along state roads. Larger tambos could provide other functions as well. For example, larger tambos would have larger storehouses that could provide supplies and some lodging for armies on the move. This function should not be allowed to cause confusion between tambos and qullqa, which were only storehouses that armies would resupply from as they passed by. The largest and most luxurious tambos were generally used to lodge the traveling Inca and his entourage (typically wives and state officials).

Beyond taking care of various kinds of travelers, larger tambos would also contain facilities where various specialists, such as potters and weavers, would produce their goods. They could also served as administrative centers from which local lords would oversee the region. Furthermore, larger tambos would contain ceremonial spaces which would serve as places for religious practices. Additionally, historians have also found evidence of hunting activity, mining activity, and coca production/exploitation at tambo sites.

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