Resumen

ALCONINI, Sonia. ÉLITE WOMEN IN THE EMERGENCY OF THE INKA EMPIRE: WARFARE AND POLITICAL LEGITIMIZATION. Textos Antropológicos [online]. 2003, vol.14, n.2, pp. 149-158. ISSN 1025-3181.

This article evaluates the participation ofthe élite Inka women in warfare and conquest, as wellas the nature oftheir politicalparticipation during the emergence and consolidaron ofthe Inka Empire. Based on the analysis ofan Inka myth oforigin, the role ofthe Inka queen Mama Guaco as a warrior leader is evaluated, as well as her key role in the authentication ofemerging royal lineages in the outset ofthe Empire. This myth emphasizes the way royal incest was used as a source of political legitimization in the structuration ofmyths oforigin. Ultímate ly, this article brings up into discussion the origins ofthe Andean system ofparallel inheritance based on gender in the arena of political competition, and the role that warfare might have played in this process.