Inca rope bridge

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Inca rope bridges
fiber rope, appropriate decking material
MovableNo
Design effortAdvanced for its time
Falsework requiredNo

Inca rope bridges are

Inca innovation in engineering. Bridges of this type were useful since the Inca people did not use wheeled transport – traffic was limited to pedestrians and livestock – and they were frequently used by chasqui
runners delivering messages throughout the Inca Empire.

Construction and maintenance

The bridges were constructed using ichu grass[1] woven into large bundles which were very strong. Part of the bridge's strength and reliability came from the fact that each cable was replaced every year by local villagers[2] as part of their mit'a public service or obligation. In some instances,[citation needed] these local peasants had the sole task of repairing these bridges so that the Inca highways or road systems could continue to function. Repairing these bridges was dangerous, with those performing repairs often facing death.

In 1615, in

The First New Chronicle, Poma illustrates the Guambo rope bridge in use. He describes the masonry bridges as a positive result of the Spanish colonization of Peru, as the new bridges prevented deaths from the dangerous repair work.[3]

Famous examples

The greatest bridges of this kind were in the

Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey
(1927).

Made of grass, the last remaining Inca rope bridge, reconstructed every June, is the

Pachamama (Earth Mother).[6]

  • The old bridge sags (Slide show)
    The old bridge sags
    (Slide show)
  • Notice how much less the new bridge sags
    Notice how much less the new bridge sags
  • Builders gather during the renewal
    Builders gather during the renewal
  • Preparing side lashings
    Preparing side lashings
  • Main cable and hand-ropes are in place
    Main cable and hand-ropes are in place
  • Lashing the hand-ropes to the main side cables.
    Lashing the hand-ropes to the main side cables.
  • Trimmed mat rolls form the bridge deck.
    Trimmed mat rolls form the bridge deck.
  • The new bridge is now complete and in use.
    The new bridge is now complete and in use.
  • Bridge in use during the rainy season.
    Bridge in use during the rainy season.

See also

References

  1. ^ Atlas Obscura (June 10, 2013). "The Last Incan Suspension Bridge Is Made Entirely of Grass and Woven by Hand". Slate. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  2. ^ Squier, Ephraim George (1877). Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas. New York: Harper Bros. p. 545. Each bridge is usually kept up by the municipality of the nearest village; and as it requires renewal every two or three years..."
  3. ISBN 0-8094-9870-7
    .
  4. ^ Leonard, Jonathan Norton (1968). 'Ancient America', Great Ages of Man Series. Time/Life Books. p. 185.
  5. ^ Squier, Ephraim George (1877). "The Great Hanging Bridge Over the Apurimac". Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas. New York: Harper Bros.
  6. ^ Foer, Joshua (February 22, 2011). "The Last Incan Grass Bridge". Slate.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Incan rope bridges.
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