How the Incas Managed Water in the Andes: Tipón and the Fountains
Inca hydraulic engineering was the system of aqueducts, irrigation canals, drainage channels, fountains, and water-powered devices developed and maintained by the Inca state between the early fifteenth century and the Spanish conquest of 1532. The Inca invested heavily in the rational distribution of water, both for ceremonial purposes and for agriculture, and the surviving remains of the system include some of the most impressive examples of pre-industrial water management anywhere in the world. The best-preserved example is the site of Tipón, in the Lucre basin southeast of Cusco, where a complex of terraces, channels, and fountains brings water from an underground spring to a sequence of pools and outlets. The Cusco system, the Sacred Valley irrigation system, and the drainage systems of imperial sites such as Machu Picchu are also important parts of the legacy.
The Cusco water system
The city of Cusco was supplied with water from a network of stone-lined canals that brought water from surrounding springs into the urban core. The principal canal was the Pumacurco aqueduct, which carried water from a spring on the hillside of Pumacurco, on the slopes above the city, to the Coricancha and to a series of fountains in the central plaza. The aqueduct was approximately 1.5 kilometers long and was built of polygonal stones, with a sequence of small drops and channels that maintained a steady flow. The aqueduct is still visible in several sections, and the surviving channels are now embedded in the walls of the colonial city.
The Antarumi canal, on the south side of the city, delivered water to the markets and to a fountain in the Huanaypata plaza, the principal ceremonial precinct. The canal was approximately 800 meters long and was built of polygonal stones with a fine sand-and-clay lining. The water from the Antarumi was used for drinking, for ritual ablutions, and for the cleaning of the market, and the canal continued in use through the colonial period and into the modern period.
The Cusco system was administered by the camayoc, the master craftsmen, who were responsible for the maintenance of the canals, the fountains, and the drainage system. The camayoc in charge of water infrastructure held positions of high status, and the water sources themselves were protected as huacas, sacred features of the landscape, at which offerings were made at the beginning and end of the agricultural season.
Tipón and the Kenneth Wright studies
Tipón is an Inca site in the Lucre basin, approximately 23 kilometers southeast of Cusco, at an elevation of approximately 3,560 meters. The site is built on a hillside that overlooks the Lucre basin, with a series of agricultural terraces, ceremonial buildings, and a complex of channels and fountains that bring water from an underground spring to a sequence of pools and outlets. The site was the focus of a detailed study by the American engineer Kenneth R. Wright and his team, published in Tipón: Master Engineering of the Inca (Wright, Wright, Zegarra, and Crowley, 2011), which demonstrated the technical sophistication of the Inca water system.
The Tipón system includes four principal features. The first is an upstream drainage system that captures water from a series of small springs and channels it into a single main canal. The second is a main canal that runs for approximately 800 meters along the contour of the hillside, with a sequence of small drops and channels that maintain a steady flow. The third is a sequence of waterfalls and fountains in the central part of the site, which distribute the water to a series of pools and outlets. The fourth is a sequence of agricultural terraces on the slopes below the central area, which are irrigated by the water from the main canal.
The Tipón system was designed to control erosion, distribute water, and produce a visually striking display of the camayuc, the life-giving water. The fountains, in particular, are arranged in a way that creates a continuous flow of water across the site, with the water cascading from one pool to the next in a carefully controlled sequence. The system is still in use, and the water continues to flow through the channels and fountains in much the same way as it did in the imperial period.
The Sacred Valley irrigation system
The Sacred Valley of the Urubamba was the agricultural heartland of the Inca state, and the irrigation system of the valley was one of the most elaborate in the empire. The principal canals include the Pampamarca canal, which delivered water from the upper Urubamba to the agricultural terraces of the lower Sacred Valley, the Chinchero canal, which brought water from the slopes above the town of Chinchero to the agricultural terraces on the plateau, and the Pisac canal, which supplied the terraces of the site of Pisac.
The canals of the Sacred Valley are typically built of polygonal stones, with a fine lining of clay or sandy soil that reduces seepage. The canals are cut into the bedrock in many places, and the larger canals include a sequence of drops and channels that maintain a steady flow despite the irregular topography. The canals are still in use in some areas, although they have been modified and extended by Spanish and modern interventions.
The Sacred Valley irrigation system supported an extensive system of agricultural terraces, including the famous terraces of Pisac, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo, and Moray. The terraces were used to grow maize, potatoes, quinoa, and a range of other crops, and the agricultural production of the valley supported the population of Cusco and the imperial court. The irrigation system was administered by the camayoc and, along with the terrace systems it fed, was one of the central supports of the imperial economy.
The drainage of Machu Picchu
The drainage system of Machu Picchu is one of the most elaborate in the imperial Inca system. The site receives approximately 2,000 millimeters of rain per year, with most of the rainfall concentrated in the wet season between November and April, and the drainage system was designed to channel the water away from the urban core and to deliver it to the agricultural terraces and to the river below. The system includes 129 separate drainage channels, several larger canals, and a sequence of fountains and basins that distribute the water across the site.
The principal feature of the Machu Picchu drainage system is a long stone-lined canal that runs along the eastern edge of the central ridge. The canal was designed to capture the runoff from the eastern slopes of the ridge and to channel it to a series of fountains in the urban core, from which the water was distributed to the residential buildings and the agricultural terraces. The system was damaged by a landslide in 2010, but it has been restored and continues to function in the early 2020s.
The Machu Picchu system is also notable for the use of the natural topography to direct water away from the buildings. The site is built on a granite ridge that is crossed by a series of faults and fractures, and Inca builders made use of a deep fracture in the bedrock to channel drainage and to provide a foundation for the Sun Temple. The fracture, which runs through the central part of the site, was sealed with polygonal stones to prevent erosion and to provide a stable base for the principal buildings.
Water and the imperial cult
Water was considered a sacred substance in the Inca state, and the management of water was closely integrated with the imperial cult. The principal water sources, including the Pumacurco spring, the springs of Tipón, and the sources of the Sacred Valley canals, were treated as huacas, sacred features of the landscape, and offerings were made to them at the beginning and end of the agricultural season. The water brought into the Coricancha was used in the rituals of the imperial cult, in particular in the initiation of the Sapa Inca and in the ceremonies associated with the June solstice.