The
Andean civilizations made up a loose patchwork of different cultures that developed from the highlands of
Colombia to the
Atacama Desert. They are mainly based on the cultures of
Ancient Peru and some others such as
Tiahuanaco. The
Inca Empire was the last sovereign political entity that emerged from the Andean civilizations before
conquest by Spaniards.
Tahuantinsuyo was a patchwork of languages, cultures and peoples. The components of the empire were not all uniformly loyal, nor were the local cultures all fully integrated. For example, the
Chimú used money in their commerce, while the Inca empire as a whole had an economy based on exchange and taxation of luxury goods and labor, and it is said that Inca tax collectors would take the head lice of the
lame and old as a symbolic tribute. The portions of the
Chachapoya that had been conquered were almost openly hostile to the Inca, and the Inca nobles rejected an offer of refuge in their kingdom after their troubles with the Spanish.