Both At Home with the Sapa Inka and The Inka Empire endeavor to foster a deeper understanding of Inka culture, especially as it was borne out through elite practices and spaces. Stella Nair uses the case study of Chinchero—a royal estate built by the emperor (Sapa Inka) Topa Inka—to explore how the site relates to cultural ideas (and ideals) of landscape, vision, power, and religion, while also framing the site as the specific expression of a single ruler’s life history and political machinations. Izumi Shimada’s edited volume, in contrast, aims for a holistic view of the Inka that spans the breadth and temporal depth of the empire.
At Home with the Sapa Inka is divided into seven main chapters, which lead the reader through the site, first on approach from outside, then into the public performative areas, and then to the more intimate and personal spaces. Nair firmly impresses the...
