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Concept
Agricultural history of Peru
Summary
The agricultural history of Peru includes agriculture, cultivation of plants and herbs and general changes in the history of farming in Peru or its historical regions.
Much of the pre-history of Peru was driven by the location of farmable land. The most populated coastal regions of Peru are the two parallel mountain ranges and the series of 20 to 30 rivers descending through its coastal desert. In dry periods only the mountains had enough rainfall for agriculture while the desert coast was empty.
In wet periods many cultures thrived along the rivers. The Inca were a mountain-based culture that expanded when the climate became wetter, often sending conquered peoples down from the mountains into fallow but farmable lowlands. In contrast, the Moche were a lowland culture that died out after a strong El Niño, which caused abnormally high rainfall and floods followed by a long drought.
A study reported that crops of squash, peanuts, and cotton were domesticated in Peru around 10,000, 8,500, and 6,000 years ago, respectively. They were grown by the Ñanchoc people in the Ñanchoc Valley. No earlier instances of the farming of these crops are known.
Peru is both afflicted and blessed by a peculiar climate due to the Humboldt Current. Before over fishing killed its fishery, Peru had the world's most productive fishery due to the cold Current. It lifts nutrients from the Pacific floor to surface waters. On land, it results in a cold mist that covers coastal Peru to the extent that desert plants have adapted to obtain water from the air instead of from (infrequent) rainfall. The wet side soil is thin, while few rivers operate on the dry side. This means all the water must be brought from the Atlantic side of the Andean mountain ranges that split Peru.
Many obstacles limited Peru's agricultural production. Peru has always been rich in natural resources such as tin, silver, gold, guano and rubber. These resources were found, not grown. Train tracks did not connect its peoples; instead they connected the sources of these valuable resources to the sea.
Official source
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