How to farm, how to farm
The Inca lived in the Andes Mountains, which stretch down the west coast of South America. Flat plains we farm today were very hard to find. Instead, the Inca dug terraces on mountains sides used to farm. 2,471,053 acres of farmland covered much of the Incan empire. Not all farmland was on terraces, so the number of acres would be smaller if only the terrace farming acres were measured. There is a very interesting feature about the stone used to make the terraces. The stone would gather heat throughout the day and during the night would distribute the heat to the plants. These structures were helpful for other reasons too. Because they had stone around them, erosion was virtually impossible. They also had a built in irrigation system that caught water coming down the mountain and then distributed water to each plant. How many types of potatoes do you know? The Inca knew 200!! The Inca grew potatoes, quinoa, and corn. When the Spanish came, they forced the Inca to farm their crops. They forced the Inca off their terraces. Most of the Inca's farming knowledge was lost. Some terraces still exist today. They appear as green lines on the mountains. Some irrigation canals still exist today. Although their farming secrets may never be known, the Inca's terrace farming is an agricultural marvel.