﻿210 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  CULTURE 
  

  

  SUBSISTENCE 
  ACTIVITIES 
  

  

  Agriculture. 
  — 
  The 
  Andean 
  area 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  world's 
  great 
  centers 
  of 
  

   plant 
  domestication, 
  and, 
  for 
  many 
  centuries 
  before 
  the 
  Spanish 
  

   Conquest, 
  its 
  inhabitants 
  had 
  lived 
  chiefly 
  by 
  their 
  agricultural 
  labors. 
  

   The 
  Spaniards 
  brought 
  draft 
  animals 
  and 
  new 
  food 
  plants, 
  but 
  in- 
  

   troduced 
  few 
  changes 
  in 
  Indian 
  methods 
  of 
  cultivation, 
  so 
  that 
  

   modern 
  Andean 
  agriculture 
  is 
  much 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Inca. 
  (See 
  

   Mishkin, 
  The 
  Modern 
  Quechua, 
  pp. 
  411-470, 
  and 
  Tschopik, 
  The 
  

   Aymara, 
  pp. 
  501-573 
  in 
  this 
  volume.) 
  

  

  A 
  complete 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  cultivated 
  in 
  the 
  Andes 
  probably 
  

   would 
  exceed 
  40 
  species, 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  domesticated 
  in 
  the 
  area, 
  but 
  

   it 
  would 
  be 
  difficult 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  valley 
  where 
  they 
  were 
  all 
  grown. 
  The 
  

   potentialities 
  of 
  the 
  valleys 
  varied 
  according 
  to 
  altitude; 
  over 
  12,000 
  

   feet 
  (3,660 
  m.), 
  only 
  6 
  or 
  8 
  species 
  could 
  be 
  raised, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  warm 
  

   irrigated 
  valleys 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  20 
  different 
  plants 
  might 
  be 
  

   cultivated. 
  In 
  the 
  highest 
  valleys, 
  the 
  potato 
  (papa) 
  was 
  the 
  staple 
  

   crop, 
  and 
  several 
  varieties 
  were 
  cultivated. 
  Quinoa 
  (kinowa) 
  fur- 
  

   nished 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  grain, 
  and 
  leaves 
  which 
  were 
  boiled 
  like 
  

   spinach. 
  Oca 
  (oqa), 
  ulluco 
  (olyoko), 
  and 
  arm 
  (anyo) 
  were 
  common 
  

   crops, 
  and 
  another 
  grain, 
  cafiigua 
  (kanyiwa) 
  , 
  related 
  to 
  quinoa, 
  could 
  

   also 
  be 
  raised. 
  At 
  lower 
  altitudes, 
  the 
  staple 
  was 
  maize 
  (sara), 
  but 
  

   the 
  plants 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  valleys 
  were 
  also 
  cultivated. 
  In 
  addition, 
  

   a 
  grain 
  (tarwi), 
  molle 
  (molyi), 
  a 
  tree 
  producing 
  red 
  berries, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   varieties 
  of 
  chili 
  pepper 
  (roqoto), 
  and 
  squash 
  (sapalyo) 
  could 
  be 
  

   grown. 
  The 
  valley 
  of 
  Cuzco 
  is 
  a 
  little 
  too 
  high 
  for 
  roqoto 
  and 
  

   squash, 
  but 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  plants 
  listed 
  can 
  be 
  grown 
  there. 
  

  

  The 
  Inca 
  imported 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  plant 
  products 
  from 
  the 
  lower 
  and 
  

   hotter 
  valleys, 
  especially 
  chili 
  pepper 
  or 
  aji 
  (oco), 
  a 
  sweet 
  edible 
  root 
  

   (acira), 
  cotton 
  (otko), 
  gourds 
  (poro), 
  and 
  coca 
  (koka). 
  Peanuts, 
  

   beans, 
  lima 
  beans, 
  yuca 
  (sweet 
  manioc), 
  tomatoes, 
  avocados, 
  sweet 
  

   potatoes, 
  and 
  some 
  12 
  other 
  plants 
  were 
  also 
  important 
  staples 
  in 
  the 
  

   lower 
  valleys, 
  to 
  name 
  only 
  the 
  most 
  important. 
  Most 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  

   Quechua 
  names. 
  4 
  

  

  Andean 
  valleys 
  are 
  characteristically 
  deep 
  and 
  narrow, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  

   amount 
  of 
  flat 
  and 
  irrigable 
  bottom 
  land 
  is 
  severely 
  limited, 
  and, 
  in 
  

   the 
  rainy 
  season, 
  the 
  run-off 
  from 
  the 
  steep 
  slopes 
  is 
  so 
  great 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  

   serious 
  danger 
  to 
  the 
  fields 
  and 
  settlements 
  in 
  the 
  valley. 
  The 
  Inca 
  

   solved 
  both 
  problems 
  by 
  terracing 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  valleys, 
  sometimes 
  

   so 
  extensively 
  that 
  the 
  whole 
  valley 
  for 
  miles 
  was 
  reshaped 
  and 
  re- 
  

   graded, 
  as 
  at 
  Yucay 
  and 
  Ollantaytambo. 
  Early 
  Inca 
  terraces 
  were 
  

   small 
  and 
  irregular, 
  and 
  probably 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  individual 
  family 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  literature 
  on 
  Peruvian 
  domestic 
  plants 
  is 
  very 
  extensive. 
  See 
  especially 
  Yacovleff 
  and 
  Herrera, 
  

   1934-35; 
  Cook, 
  1937; 
  Mangelsdorf 
  and 
  Reeves, 
  1939; 
  Herrera, 
  1923; 
  and 
  Sauer, 
  Handbook, 
  vol. 
  5. 
  

  

  