Late-Horizon packaging: The Inca, aribalos, and packaging function

Historically, publications in the field of packaging science have relied on Western supply chains and their use of wheel, boat and market driven exchange to analyze packaging. To provide additional perspective, an in-depth study of the Late-Horizon Andes Mountains and the Inca Empire (roughly 1438 to 1533 AD), the region's dominant power during this time, was performed because it lacked substantial wheel, boat and market driven exchange while still engaging extensively in the movement of goods. Chapter 2 provides a comparison of native packaging before and after Spanish influence in the region, establishing evidence that shifts in packaging are observable with changes in culture. Chapter 3 uses packaging attribute models and packaging value chain analysis to interpret the impact of a package type, aribalos, on the Late Horizon Andes, and demonstrate packaging's impact across cultures. Chapter 4 presents a closer examination of aribalos providing data that the design of aribalos were engineered for user comfort and modeling their mass and circumference. The research indicates the Inca Empire's packaging solutions were optimized to reduce economic costs of packaging construction while increasing efficiency in transportation.