The Peruvians appear to have been advanced in the study of geography and in the use of relief maps. The provinces were measured and surveyed, and the natural features were shown by means of these relief maps moulded in clay.[1] They were used by the Incas for administrative purposes, and especially for deciding the destinations of colonists. Garcilasso de la Vega had the great advantage of seeing one of these relief maps. It was made of clay, with small stones and sticks, and was a model of the city of Cuzco, showing the four main roads. It was according to scale, and showed the squares and streets, and the streams, and the surrounding country with its hills and valleys. The Inca declares that it was well worthy of admiration, and that the best cosmographer in the world could not have done it better. It was constructed at Muyna, a few leagues south of Cuzco, where Garcilasso saw it.
There were Yacha Huasi, or schools, at Cuzco, said to have been founded by Inca Rocca, where youths were trained and instructed as Amautas and Quipucamayocs. The former were in close touch with the hierarchy, and were usually either priests or councillors of the sovereign. The Harahuecs, or bards, were also trained at these institutions.
The Runa-simi was nobly and abundantly used in preserving the origins and developments of Andean civilisation, although the want of knowledge
- ↑ Sarmiento, p. 120.
