Inca Conquest of Lake Titicaca

1460

Pachacuti and Tupac Inca subdued the Aymara-speaking kingdoms around Lake Titicaca, incorporating their herds of llamas and alpacas into the imperial tribute system. The high-altitude plateau became an Inca economic core, supplying wool, dried meat, and freeze-dried potatoes to distant garrisons through the royal storehouse network. The Aymara kingdoms retained cultural autonomy within the Inca system, and their descendants still speak Aymara and practice pre-Columbian traditions today.