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Where did the Incas grow their crops?
The Andes are some of the tallest, starkest mountains in the world. Yet the Incas, and the civilizations before them, coaxed harvests from the Andes’ sharp slopes and intermittent waterways. They developed resilient breeds of crops such as potatoes, quinoa and corn.
How did the Incas grow potatoes?
The Incas are believed to have been the first to cultivate potatoes all the way up in the Andes mountain range, at 3,800 metres above sea level. The Incas discovered that by dehydrating the potatoes into a substance called chuño, they could store it for up to 10 or even 15 years. Peruvian potatoes were versatile too.
Where did the Incas plant their crops?
They developed resilient breeds of crops such as potatoes, quinoa and corn. They built cisterns and irrigation canals that snaked and angled down and around the mountains. And they cut terraces into the hillsides, progressively steeper, from the valleys up the slopes.
How was the food grown by the Incas divided?
When the Incas conquered a territory, they divided the land and livestock into three unequal parts – one for the state religion, one for the king, and one for the local inhabitants.
What agricultural techniques did the Inca use?
Inca Crops – Vegetables, Grains, Roots and Tubers. Inca farming techniques were quite advanced; the use of terraced fields in the highlands and irrigation systems in desert regions helped with the cultivation of crops throughout the empire.
What was the Inca farming method?
The Inca used the slash and burn technique to cultivate agriculture. This method of agriculture also known as fire-fallow cultivation that involves cutting and burning of plants in a woodland to create a field called a swidden.
Why did the Incas build terraces?
Why did the Incas build Terraces. Answer. The terraces were built to make the most efficient use of shallow soil and to enable irrigation of crops by allowing runoff to occur through the outlet. The Inca built on these, developing a system of canals, aqueducts, and puquios to direct water through dry land and increase fertility levels and growth.
How did the Inca farm?
The Inca invented terrace farming. They lived in the mountains. Flatlands were rare. So, they simply created flat land by building steps of land for agriculture down the mountainside. This was great for irrigation. Instead of rainwater running down the mountainside, the Inca channeled it through each step.