page_title: Inca society
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Inca society / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: Peruvian cornA huge variety of corn is grown in Peru.
context_page_description: The Inca society was the society of the Inca civilization in Peru. The Inca Empire, which lasted from 1438 to 1533 AD, represented the height of this civilization. The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cusco before 1438. Over the course of the empire, the rulers used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centred on the Andean mountain ranges. The empire proved relatively short-lived, however: by 1533, Atahualpa, the last Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, was killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The last Inca stronghold, the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
context_section_description: It is estimated that the Inca cultivated around seventy crop species.  The main crops were potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, chili peppers, cotton, tomatoes, peanuts, an edible root called oca, and the pseudograins quinoa and amaranth. The crops developed by the Inca and preceding cultures makes South America one of the historic centers of crop diversity (along with the Middle East, India, Mesoamerica, Ethiopia, and the Far East). Many of these crops were widely distributed by the Spanish and are now important crops worldwide. Salsa was originated by the Inca people using tomatoes, chili peppers, and other spices.
  In the Incan settlement of Vitcos, pollen from maize and quinoa was found in several soil samples which date back as early as the Incan period.
  The Inca cultivated food crops on dry Pacific coastlines, high on the slopes of the Andes, and in the lowland Amazon rainforest. In mountainous Andean environments, they made extensive use of terraced fields which not only allowed them to put to use the mineral-rich mountain soil which other peoples left fallow, but also took advantage of micro-climates conducive to a variety of crops being cultivated throughout the year. A contributing factor for the ability of the Inca to expand their population and agriculture as quick as they did, was because of a small climate shift that allowed for slightly warmer temperatures and a small increase in annual precipitation. This contributed to the Inca's ability to use terraced and irrigated fields in higher elevations, opening up vast amount of the Andes Mountains for Inca agriculture. Agricultural tools consisted mostly of simple digging sticks.
  The Inca developed Qollqas, a building made of "adobe, field stone, clay mortar, plaster and pirca" used for food storage. These granaries stored "maize, quinoa, potatoes, potatoes, chica (maize beer), fruit, salt, fish, tubers, and grain". Qollqas allowed for the survival of food supplies in the cold climate of the Andes.
  The Inca also raised llamas and alpacas for their wool, meat, and to use them as pack animals and captured wild vicuñas for their fine hair.
  The Inca road system was key to farming success as it allowed distribution of foods over long distances. The Inca also constructed vast storehouses, which allowed them to live through El Niño years while some neighboring civilizations suffered.
  Inca leaders kept records of what each ayllu in the empire produced, but did not tax them on their production. They instead used the mita for the support of the empire.
  The Inca diet consisted primarily of fish and vegetables, supplemented less frequently with the meat of cuyes (guinea pigs) and camelids. In addition, they hunted various animals for meat, skins and feathers.  Maize was malted and used to make chicha, a fermented alcoholic beverage.
caption: Many varieties of Peruvian maize (corn) were well-known to the Incas for centuries
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