Diagram of the Ceque System

Taken from one of R. Tom Zuidema's books, this image shows the classic diagram of the ceque system. It shows ceques radiating out from the center, Cusco, divided into the four quadrants, or suyus, of the Inca empire. This is an early version of the diagram, with a different order of suyus than Zuidema later came to espouse. In a communication with the library, he noted that “I would like to observe that later I put always Chinchaysuyu in the upper left corner.” Although our understanding of the ceque system has developed since Zuidema began working on the subject in the 1960s, this diagram remains central to scholarly understanding.

Reference

• R. Tom Zuidema, El sistema de ceques del Cuzco: La organización de la capital de los incas: Con un ensayo preliminar, 1st ed. (Lima: Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 1995).