Andén
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Anden, Spanish for "platform",[1] is a stair-step like terrace dug into the slope of a hillside for agricultural purposes. The term is most often used to refer to the terraces built by Pre-Columbian cultures in the Andes mountains of South America. Andenes had several functions the most important of which was to increase the amount of cultivatable land available to farmers by leveling the planting area for crops. The most impressive examples of andenes are in Peru, especially near the Inca capital of Cuzco and in the Colca Canyon. Many andenes have survived for more than 500 years and are still in use by farmers throughout the region.
Origin and history
Agricultural terraces have been built and used by farmers around the world for thousands of years mainly for the purpose of permitting cultivation on steep hillsides. The origin of terraces or andenes in the Andes is poorly understood, but they were being built by 2000 BCE. Agriculture became more important after 900 BCE and terraces were built in the central Andes of Peru by people of the Huarpa culture and the later Wari culture (500-1000 CE).[2] During the Inca Empire (1438-1533) the technology and the quantity of land devoted to andenes reached their highest levels. Andenes are estimated by archaeologists to have covered about 1,000,000 hectares (2,500,000 acres) of land[3] and to have contributed substantially to feeding the approximately ten million people ruled by the Incas.[4]
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1533 led to a demographic collapse in the Andes as the Indigenous population precipitously declined due to European diseases and war. With lessened population pressure, many farmers relocated or were relocated by force by the Spanish policy of reductions to flatter and more easily cultivated lands. Also, the Spanish introduced draft animals and plows. Andenes were difficult to access by these innovations, being most suitable for the hand tiller. In the 19th century with population growth, an increased number of andenes came back into use for crops.[5]
Climate and micro-climate modification
In the steep terrain of Andes, flat and good farming land was scarce and the primary purpose of the andenes was to expand the amount of cultivatable land. The adverse climate for agriculture in much of the Andes was another negative factor for agriculture which the use of andenes helped overcome. Much of the Inca Empire was found at elevations about sea-level of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Farmers grew crops up to an altitude of about 4,250 metres (13,940 ft).[6]
Famous collections of Andenes
The Andenes possess an appeal beyond the historical and their original economic motivations: they are also landscape resources whose situation in the Andes Mountains has notable aesthetic value. Many of them follow the natural curve of the slopes in such a way that preserves the visual harmony of the environment. The idea of hanging gardens in the mountains can fit well with the description of the Andenes.
Between the center of Peru and the north of Bolivia one finds the best conserved collection of andenes. Perhaps the most impressive Andenes zone is the Colca Canyon (Valle de Colca), whose terraces were constructed by the Collaguas beginning in the 11th century. Those on the islands in Lake Titicaca (constructed by the Aymara) are visually stunning, as are those in the so-called Sacred Valley of the Incas (Valle Sagrado de los Incas) in Cusco, those constructed by the Incas in Moray (Inca ruin) in a collection of concentric circles, as well as the enormous terraces at Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. A good part of these Andenes are used to this day, which illustrates the quality of their design.
See also
References
- ^ "Oxford Living Dictionaries", https://es.oxforddictionaries.com/translate/spanish-english/anden, accessed 13 Dec 2016
- ^ Goodman-Elgar, Melissa (2008), "Evaluating soil resilience in long-term cultivation: a study of Pre-Columbian terraces from the Paca Valley, Peru." Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 35, p. 3072
- ^ Graber, Cynthia (2011), "Farming Like the Incas", Smithsonian, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/farming-like-the-incas-70263217/, accessed 14 Dec 2016
- ^ McEwan, Gordon F. (2006), The Incas: New Perspective, New York: Norton and Company, pp 93-96. 10 million is a mid-range estimate of the population of the Inca Empire
- ^ Goodman-Elgar, pp. 3074-3075
- ^ Land Use in the Andes: Ecology and Agriculture in the Madero Valley of Peru (1979), International Potato Center, p. 12