The Inca State Organizes Large-Scale Chicha Production

Around 1450, as the Inca state expanded across the Andes, it organized the production of maize beer, or chicha, at imperial and provincial centers. Archaeological evidence from sites such as El Shincal in present-day Argentina includes large grinding installations, brewing vessels, storage facilities, and spaces used to prepare food and drink for state-sponsored gatherings. The scale and organization of these facilities went beyond ordinary household brewing. Chicha was distributed at feasts that brought together officials, local leaders, laborers, soldiers, and communities incorporated into the empire. Drinking expressed hospitality and reciprocity, but it also reinforced political authority and obligations to the state. Women—including the aqllakuna commonly described as “chosen women”—were assigned important roles in producing chicha and textiles for the Inca and religious institutions. Beer production therefore formed part of the administrative, ceremonial, and labor systems through which the Inca state governed its territories.