Andean Ecology: Adaptive Dynamics in Ecuador by Gregory Knapp

Author:Gregory Knapp [Knapp, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780429714948
Google: 8CmNDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 44597815
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

PREHISTORIC AGRICULTURAL ADAPTATIONS

The crops and technology in use today are in part the heritage of pre-Hispanic cultures, but it would be a mistake to see Andean agriculture as a simple continuation of indigenous practices. In fact, five of the eight major subsistence crops of the Andes were brought by the Spaniards,1 along with most of the domestic animals and many of the tools, as well as the overall economic and political framework.

There is evidence that the Spanish introductions were voluntarily accepted by indigenous farmers with explosive rapidity,2 so that while the contemporary complex is not pre-Hispanic, it does in essence date to the first decades of Spanish control. This rapid acceptance is in keeping with the advantages of the new crops as discussed in the preceding chapter, as well as with the fundamental contribution of the European animals to the manure supply.

At the same time, certain technical alternatives were abandoned after the Spanish conquest. These include raised fields, certain kinds of terracing, and the crops although not the technology of subtropical irrigation. To understand these lost technologies, evidence must be sought in early accounts, archives, and in the landscape itself.

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