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For purposes of administration the empire was divided into four parts, the lines of which met at Cuzco; the quarters were divided into provinces, usually on the basis of former independent divisions. These in turn were customarily split into an upper and a lower moiety; the moieties were subdivided into ayllus, or local communities. Much as it exists today as the basic unit of communal indigenous society, so the ancient ayllu was the political and social foundation of Inca government. When a territory was conquered, surveys, consisting of relief models of topographical and population features, and a census of the population were made. With these reports, recorded on quipus, of the material and human resources in each province, populations were reshuffled as needed. Thus transplanted, and dominated by Quechua colonists, the subject peoples had less chance to revolt, and the separate languages and cultures were molded to the Inca pattern.

The Incas lived in large family units known as ayllu, which consisted of about 10-20 members. Each unit had a leader and he was called Mallcu. In a village every single person had to help in farming the land. Each ayllu lived on a plot of land because they spent their entire life outside. The homes of the common people had no windows and only one door. They would hang leather or cloth over the entrance to provide privacy. Many of the homes were small, made of mud, stone, and sun-baked brick. The homes of the royals and nobles were large, contained many rooms, windows, doorways, and sometimes even had wooden doors.

Marriage was important in the Inca society, because a man was not considered an adult until he was married. Just like many other societies monogamy was the norm for the lower classes, but concubine was allowed for the upper class. Women were only allowed to marry when they could reproduce. When a young woman was between the age of sixteen and twenty and a young man between twenty and twenty-five, they would be called together by an Inca official who would match them up. Marriage was considered a duty owed to the empire and remaining single was not an option. There were times when someone would have a disability and they then were paired with someone who also had a disability. Each couple knew each other because it was customary to be paired with someone from one’s own ayllu. The young man and his parents would walk to the bride’s home where her family would give their approval and then everyone would then travel to the groom’s home. The bride would hand her soon to be husband a wool tunic and a lluato, which is a headband. Then the marriage ceremony was celebrated by feasting, dancing, and drinking chicha. The government also provides all newlyweds with a plot of land and they were expected to reproduce. Rarely, would a commoner take more than one wife if he did only the first one would be considered the principle wife. If a man’s wife died, he would wear a black cloak and would not remarry for a year.