Ancient South American Foodways

1496 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of religion in latin america

Ancient South American Foodways

Domestication of plants and animals has long been indicated as a main causational factor for population increase and socio-political complexity. Evidence of domestication of plants in South America has been said of have initially occurred 8000 BC, evidence of squash in Ecuador (Pearsall 2008:107), and 500 years earlier lima beans and chili peppers are being exploited (Lynch 1983:125-6). However, it took several millennia for intensive manipulation of plants to become standard practice for subsistence. The Archaic transition occurred around 3000 BC was identifiable for its

“broadly based subsistence, experimental agriculture, seasonal nomadism giving way to sedentism, and technological proliferation” (Lynch 1983:91). By the end of the Paleo-Indian times the shift to agriculture and cultivation came to a head during Pre-ceramic 2500 BC quinoa, maize, gourd, squash, potato, beans and lucuma were now utilized for agricultural domestication—the Formative stage according the Lynch (1983:91) ca. 2000 BC had “intensive agriculture, full sedentism, class systems, corporate labor projects, and temple-based religions.”

Before and continuing through the advent of irrigation agriculture, South Americans diets and main source of protein was marine based. “Fishing is very nearly as old in the new world as the presence of humans—seafood not just agriculture underwrote the first formation of Andean Civilization” (Isbell, Sandweiss, Silver 2008:147). Small sea villages eventually provided a mutual trade system for larger complex towns—exchange of maritime resources for agricultural products. The advent of irrigation agriculture was vital in the formation of complex villages. The trajectory of irrigation in Sou...

... middle of paper ...

...ithin and without the temple precincts, Chavin possessed elements which were to became standard in later Andean cities” (Bruhns, 1994:131). Also, Chiripa located near the Southern end of Lake Titicaca (600-100 BC), because a model for later temple structures particularly the Kidder Temple at Pucara. The site consisted of rectangular buildings around a central patio and each site in the complex housed a sunken rectangular temple. Consistencies across Nazca settlement patterns indicate urban planning strategies and monitoring systems. The Incan culture derived from Tiwanaku. Incan empire expanded from its core, Cuzco in the Cuzco Valley. Incan’s ability to cultivate and harvest resulting in techniques for food storage that could last from 3-7 years. Inca’s took the crops of those conquered nations and cultivated them ensuring seasonality differentiation abundance.

Show More
Related

  • economic systems in copan compared to other ancient cultures

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    Teotihuacan was a huge metropolis in what is now southern Mexico. It became a large city before 100CE and reached the height of its size from about 600-650CE. At its height it was home to roughly 125,000 inhabitants. There is a permanent springs nearby the ancient city, and satellite photos have indicated the presence of a possible irrigation system with canals used to water farm sites. Although the age of the irrigation canals has yet to be established it seems to be highly probable that this canal system was created concurrently with the development of the city. This conclusion is also supported by a lack of rural population, which would have been necessary to provide food for such a large population if there wasn’t agriculture within the city. Because the food was not brought in from a great distance, the travel expenditure to get the food to the population would have been low. This allowed there to be a dense population concentration within the urban area. The expense of moving goods in the new world seems to have been a factor that limited the size of cities.

    Read More

  • An Edible History Of Humanity Summary

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book tells the history of human civilization through the development of our food production and culture. A highly relevant book to present although food is a special type of natural resource or products hereof and history is a wider subject than conflict. The gradual transition towards hierarchical social order is described. Especially the significance of irrigation is compelling.

    Read More

  • Art History of Central America

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chavin de Huantar was located in Peru and developed around 900 B.C. late in the Initial Period. At an elevation of 3,150 m., Chavin de Huantar was situated at the bottom of Cordillera Blanca’s eastern slopes, approximately halfway between tropical forests and coastal plains. At the intersection of major routes, Chavin de Huantar was in the position to control the routes, increase their exchange with others, and receive goods that were not natural to their area. Chavin de Huantar was an agricultural society, home to a fairly large population.

    Read More

  • Inca Empire Essay

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Provincial centers served as both the focal economic and administrative points of the Inca Empire. The impact the Inca Empire’s multiple uses, such as collecting and preserving, of their provincial centers will live on for all of eternity. The Incan pottery was not only manufactured by the Inca empire but traded among the “distant regions through state channels”(Gyarmati) as well. The discoveries regarding “Paria’s size and density of surface finds with the settlement sizes and the finds densities of the Late Intermediate Period”(Gyarmati) reveal the immense growth of demand for Incan pottery vessels.

    Read More

  • Mayan, Inca, and Aztec Civilizations

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...c used a slash and burn style of farming and they relocated once the nutrients of the land were used up. The Incas were much more advanced. Labor specialization was common, especially in the large densely populated areas like Cuzco. The Incas made roads, had irrigation channels, fortresses, and mines. They used crop rotation and terracing and other advanced agricultural methods.

    Read More

  • The Effects of a Changing Environment on the Ju/'hoansi Lifestyle

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    The biggest component which marked the shift in Ju/‘hoansi life would be the change from a hunter gatherer society to an agricultural society. The transition was not an easy one, as the unreliable rainfall and drastic seasonal changes made settling in one area a challenge. However, the Jus managed to raise livestock such as cattle and goats and grow ten different crops including tobacco, sorghum and maize.(Lee, 2003) Although these changes were beneficial as it increases the stability of the food supply in a community, it also restricted the mobility of the people. Farm life resulted in children having to start working at a young age and the subordination of women became more prevalent as they became housebound while their spouses left to seek job opportunities. Men started to leave home grounds to work at the mines to buy food and other goods. It was observed that these men incorporated the hxaro exchange system to the goods they bought, preserving traditional pra...

    Read More

  • Life of Peru's Indigenous People

    2600 Words  | 6 Pages

    The original occupants of the Latin American country Peru and surrounding areas were the Incas. These people were organized into local ethnic groups or communities of about four to ten people. The Incas were composed of corporate kinship groups and grouped into hierarchical dual organizations called moieties. Also these ethnic groups were endogamous and leadership amongst them was based on hereditary standards. Therefore political, religious and economic responsibilities were placed upon kuracas or native elites who inherited their status. The most important aspect of Andean life in the Andes amongst these people dealt with agriculture. Incan landscapes were very unique and can at best be described as very rugged terrain stretched out over the Andes mountains...

    Read More

  • The Rise And Development Of The Aztec Empire

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    The population of the Empire was very diverse and large, containing millions of people. The Incan people called their state Tawantinsuyu. It consisted of four divisions with the capital, Cuzco, located in middle. The people did not have written language, making the early Spanish as the only source of The Incan Empire. However, according to the Incan people, the Empire did not start its growth until the capital was almost destroyed by the revolting Chanca people in the fifteenth century. The son of the emperor, Inca Yupanqui, was able to stop the revolt. While in power, he had a goal to bring civilization to all of the Andean people. Along with his successors, they made the Incan Empire begin to quickly grow. Alliances, intimidation, and conquest gave the power needed to expand the Empire. Conquered areas were not made to be tributaries for the Incas, but actually became part of the Empire. More than 14,000 miles of road would be used for transport by the Empire, so moving large groups of people was not hard. The newly conquered people were split up and relocated, making the conquered people less of a threat to the empire. The roads contained administrative centers and warehouses that not only allowed the Empire to transport people, but also created storage for goods throughout the Empire. Food and clothing that was stored allowed the army to constantly move while always having supplies. The Incan Empire was

    Read More

  • Environmental Impacts of Unsustainable Agriculture in Brazil and Costa Rica

    1661 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pengue, W. (2004, April). A Short History of Farming in Latin America. Seedling. Retrieved from http://www.grain.org/article/entries/413-a-short-history-of-

    Read More

  • Past and Present of Peruvian Cuisine

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cuisine of Peru is a combination between traditional Amerindian cooking and the cuisine of the Spanish conquistadors that came into the country in the 16th century. Maize, beans, and potatoes were the standard ingredients of the pre-Columbian cooking in Peru. These three staples remain an integral part of Peruvian cuisine and were ex...

    Read More

  • Neolithic Revolution

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Authors, Various. The Origins Of Civilizations, "The Agrarian Revolution And The Birth Of Civilization." Last modified 2007. Accessed March 23, 2012. http://history-world.org/neolithic.htm.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Wheat In Maya Civilization

    208 Words  | 1 Pages

    Upon arrival in the Americas, Europeans set out to make wheat the standard grain in the lands they had discovered; the establishment of wheat was both functional, as it was a staple of the European diet, as well as an attempt to institutionalize European control. While wheat did gain some ground in the Americas, especially among the upper classes, it failed to surmount maize as the “the foundation of indigenous livelihood.” The persistence of maize as a staple of the indigenous way of life is not shocking, as J. Eric Thompson writes: “Maize was a great deal more than the economic basis of Maya civilization: it was the focal point of worship, and to it every Maya who worked the soil built a shrine in his own heart.” The Americas were not

    Read More

  • The Nazca Lines

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, this research paper was all about the Nazca Lines and the Nazca Indians and also where they were located, how they lived, and why the Nazca Indians created the Nazca Lines. There is also many details about the theories on the Nazca Lines based on how they got there, and how the Nazca Indians created them. There are many more details about the Nazca Indians and what some of the lines form. Also, there are details about how they got water and how they grew the crops and what they ate to survive in the Peru desert for so long.

    Read More

  • The Agricultural Revolution: Augmentation and Dissemination

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    The blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of “blessing” and “curse” from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of “negative” and “positive”. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolithic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human society began to emerge in the Neolithic Period or the New Stone Age. This new age began around 9,000 B.C.E. by the development of agriculture in the region surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is commonly referred to as “The Fertile Crescent” located in West Asia.1 The very development of agriculture had benefited humans by no longer having to move about in search of wild game and plants. Unencumbered by nomadic life humans found little need to limit family size and possessions and settled in a single location for many years. One negative aspect of this settling is that the population increased so much so that wild food sources were no longer sufficient to support large groups. Forced to survive by any means necessary they discovered using seeds of the most productive plants and clearing weeds enhanced their yield.2 This also lead humans to develop a wider array of tools far superior to the tools previously used in the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age. The spread of the Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Period also cultivated positive aspects by creating connections with other cultures and societies. Through these connections they exchanged knowledge, goods, and ideas on herding and farming.3 Another major positive aspec...

    Read More

  • Exploring Life at Mehrgarh and Its Importance as One of the Major Cities of the Indus Valley Civilizations

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    For decades archaeologists believed that plants and animals were first domesticated in the near east (Israel, Lebanon, Syria, south west Turkey, Iraq, western Iran) early in Holocene (8000 to 10000 years ago). It is now possible to mount a challenge to this archaeological dogma about the domestication of plants and animals as evidence of that has been found in Afghanistan and Mehrgarh on the Kachi plains of Pakistan. The roots of sedentism and village farming community have been documented in the 7th millennium BC, at the site of Mehrgarh on the Kachi plains of the central Indus valley. Farming was successful here because it is thought that Pleistocene Indus River flowed in this area...

    Read More

More about Ancient South American Foodways

Open Document