John Victor Murra facts for kids

John Victor Murra (born August 24, 1916 – died October 16, 2006) was a Ukrainian-American professor. He was an anthropologist, which means he studied human societies and cultures. Murra was famous for his research on the Inca Empire, an ancient civilization in South America.

Early Life and Education

John Murra was born Isak Lipschitz in Odesa, Ukraine, in 1916. Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire at that time. In 1934, when he was 18, Murra moved to the United States. He studied sociology at the University of Chicago and earned his first degree in 1936.

In 1937, he traveled to Europe. He joined the Spanish Civil War, fighting for the Second Spanish Republic. He was part of a group called the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Murra was injured during the Battle of the Ebro. Because of his injuries, he could not serve in World War II later on.

He returned to the United States in 1939. Murra continued his studies at the University of Chicago. He earned a master's degree in 1942 and a PhD in anthropology in 1956.

Career and Inca Research

John Murra taught at several universities during his career. These included the University of Puerto Rico (1947–1950) and Vassar College (1950–1961). He also taught at Yale University (1962–1963) and Cornell University (1968–1982).

Murra developed new ideas about the Inca Empire. He believed that trade and gift-giving were very important among Inca families. He spent a lot of time looking through old Spanish records. These records were from the time when Spain ruled parts of South America.

He discovered that Inca people living in the rainforest would travel to the Andes mountains. They traded their crops for things like wool from their relatives in the mountains. Murra called this system the "vertical archipelago". This idea showed how different groups of Inca people helped each other. Later research has shown that his model is mostly correct. It is now the accepted way to understand the Inca economy.

Murra wrote several books about his research. Some of his works include The Economic Organization of the Inca State (1956). He also wrote Cloth and its Functions in the Inca State (1962). After he retired, he worked at a museum in La Paz, Bolivia.

John Murra passed away in his home in Ithaca, New York, in 2006.