agriculture review
by aditya abhishek
Inca were South American Indians that lived along the Pacific coast and Andean highlands from the northern border of modern Ecuador to the Maule River in central Chile.
The Inca Empire was mainly concentrated in the high plateaus and mountains of the Andes of Peru, usually having elevations of above 3000 meters.
Inca lived in hilly regions, which is why they had to create terraces. Terraces are carved steps of land in the mountainside for growing crops such as Corn, Quinoa, potato, etc.
There is one amazing feature of the Inca agriculture system. They used to have stone walls alongside the border of the terraces which helped to keep crop roots warm during night.
Moreover, terraces built by Incas were so well designed that it used to retain irrigation water from rain or irrigation canals for a longer duration.
Incas used to cultivate corn, quinoa, potato, pepper, amaranth, etc. and they domesticated Camelids and Guinea pigs.
The presence of food storage structures called "Qullqas" can also be seen in the Inca empire which tells the story of agricultural development during their period.
Incas used to reuse waste from their domesticated animals as a good source of nutrients for their crops. However, harsh weather was always challenging for the Incas.
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