No abstract

Prehistoric Agricultural MethodsDuring the time period modeled (2500 BC -AD 1000) Titicaca basin peoples employed a number of agricultural techniques to take advantage of the Titicaca basin's virtually unique environment.Herds of camelids, llamas and alpacas, were important as portable wealth, as pack animals, for wool, to fertilize fields, as well as a source of meat (along with fish and some deer). Herds could be pastured in the puna zone above 4000 m where crops cannot grow. There were also low pastures on the flat pampas. Today, farmers irrigate the pampas in some areas to provide better pasturage for their grazing animals (Stanish 2003).Plant agriculture was complex and intensive, based upon a huge variety of tubers and some grains. These plants were cultivated in a number of areas of the basin using a variety of techniques. Once the Titicaca basin people began to cultivate land, they employed the full suite of techniques to most effectively exploit the landscape (Stanish 2006).Terraces constructed on hillsides were the most common use of the land for agriculture. These terraces served to catch rain runoff as well as prevent erosion. Any overflow cascaded to the next lower terrace downhill. Very modest raised canals or aqueducts were also built to direct additional water to the terraces from other sources such as springs (Treacy 1989) Cocha were artificial depressions in the low pampa areas dug in the ground to reach the groundwater that collects in front of the lake and to hold water during the dry season. Crops were planted in small furrows that farmers dug out from the cocha. (Stanish 1994(Stanish , 2006 Raised fields were a series of earthen platforms built up in swampy or low lying areas along the lake shore and river banks. The platforms increased soil depth and provided the appropriate drainage for otherwise waterlogged soil. The areas between the platforms where soil was removed became canals that filled with water. The canals collected and produced organic sediment used as fertilizer and were a source of water for splash irrigation. Some have suggested that the fields stored heat from solar radiation to protect against overnight frosts.