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The Inca agriculture system not only included a vast acreage of crops, but also numerous herds, some numbering in the tens of thousands, of animals, some taken by force from conquered enemies. [9] These animals were llamas and alpacas, the dung of which was used to fertilize the crop fields. [9]
As one of the major cradles of agriculture, the Andean region, has many indigenous crop species which have persisted and diversified for generations. Tools include the Chaki taklla (Chakitaqlla), a modified stick tool used for tilling, adapted to manage a variety of soil and terrain types. [1] Crops include: Maize; Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)
The Inca civilization stretched across many regions on the western coast of South America (specifically Peru), and so there was a great diversity of unique plants and animals used for food. The most important plant staples involved various tubers, roots, and grains; and the most common sources of meat were guinea pigs , llamas , fish, and other ...
The vertical archipelago, adopted by the Lupaqa chiefdom, was occasionally used by the Inca Emperors. Depending on its geographical position, each ayllu was specialized in exploiting certain eco-regions. Agricultural ayllus were situated near fertile land and grew crops that were suited to the soil type. Their production would be taken by the ...
A study reported that crops of squash, peanuts, and cotton were domesticated in Peru around 10,000, 8,500, and 6,000 years ago, respectively. They were grown by the Ñanchoc people in the Ñanchoc Valley. No earlier instances of the farming of these crops are known. [2]
Inca animal husbandry refers to how in the pre-Hispanic andes, camelids played a truly important role in the economy. In particular, the llama and alpaca —the only camelids domesticated by Andean people— [ 1 ] which were raised in large-scale houses and used for different purposes within the production system of the Incas .
Vicuñas and guanacos, though undomesticated, were used for their fine and much-prized wool. Little agriculture is performed in the puna, though in the Bolivian altiplano intensive agriculture was possible through the use of waru waru raised bed agriculture, which used specialized irrigation techniques to prevent frost from destroying crops.
An important objective in constructing andenes was to permit maize to be grown at elevations above its usual climatic limit of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) up to 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). Maize was a prestige crop for the Incas and earlier cultures, but of the crops cultivated in the Andes, it is the most demanding of water and nutrients. [15] [16]