How the Inca Built an Empire Without Wheeled Transport or Conventional Writing

The Inca, or Inka, were the ruling people whose state developed in the Andes, the mountainous region of western South America. In wider usage, “Inca” also names the empire they ruled. This creates an apparent puzzle: how could the Inca govern across difficult terrain without making wheeled vehicles and conventional writing central to transport and administration? The answer is not that they lacked technology. They developed connected systems suited to their landscape, resources and political needs.