I 8 Expedition 30(1):8-16 1988 Expedi t ion, Vol. 30, No. 3

Putting Ancient Agriculture Back to Work

CLARK L. ERICKSON

he remains of an extensiveancient agricultural systembuilt and used by Andean

peoples centuries ago are foundthroughout the vast high plain sur-rounding Lake Titicaca in the An-dean countries of Peru and Bolivia(Figs. 1, 2). Raised fields are largeelevated planting platforms whichprovided drainage, improved soilconditions, and improved tempera-tures for crops, The remains ofprehistoric raised fields, elaboratesunken gardens, and agriculturalterraces cover tens of thousands ofhectares in the region, and provideevidence of the impressive engi-neering abilities of the peoples wholived there in pre-Columbian times.

Our recent invest igat ions ofraised field agriculture demonstratenot only the technological expertiseof the past cultures, but also thatthese systems could be re-usedtoday to make high altitude landsmore productive. In a region suchas the Andes, where conditions ofsoil and climate greatly limit agricul-tural potential , technologicalmethods to augment productivityhave been increasingly necessary tosupport the growing populations ofQuechua and Aymara farmers wholive there today. The reuse of raisedfields may be an economical andecologically sound alternative toagricultural development based onexpensive imported technology.

Until recently, very little wasknown about the origins and evolu-tion of raised field technology in theLake Titicaca Basin. Observant

Spanish chroniclers in the 16th fields had probably been aban-century described many aspects of doned before t h e arrival o f t h ethe indigenous agriculture, such as Spanish. Questions such as whoterraces and irrigation canals, but constructed the fields, when werethey did not mention raised fields. they built , what crops were cul-This omission suggests that raised tivated, why the fields varied so

Lake Titicaca

important archaeological site

1Map showing distribution of raised field remains (based on Smith et al. 1968:fig. 1) and potential raised field sites within the Lake Titicaca basin ofsouthern Peru a

Agriculture in the Lake Titicaca Basin”

much in size and shape, and howraised field agriculture functionedneeded to be answered.

Between 1981 and 1986, I directeda small team of researchers inves-tigating prehistoric raised field agri-culture in the community of Huattain the northern Lake Titicaca Basinof Peru. Huatta is located in thecenter of the largest block of raisedfield remains, estimated to cover53,000 hectares. The project, com-bining archaeology and agronomy,addressed the important questionsraised above, as well as those morerelevant to modern agriculture,such as estimating the potentialproductivity of the raised fields andinvestigating their effects on thelocal agricultural environment. Theinvestigation was based on archae-ological survey and excavation ofprehistoric raised fields and se-lected habitat ion s i tes , togetherwith the construction and study ofexperimental raised field plots (seebox). To apply the results of thisresearch, a small-scale developmentproject involving local Quechuafarmers was begun in 1982 to putraised fields back into use.

Raised FieldAgriculture and theLake TiticacaEnvironment

Raised fields are constructed byexcavating parallel canals and pilingthe earth between them to formlong, low mounds with flat orconvex surfaces. These raised plat-forms increase soil fertility, im-prove drainage in low-lying areas,and improve local micro-environ-ments, primarily by decreasingfrost risk. The canals between raisedfields provide vital moisture duringperiods of short- and long-termdrought. Water in the deep canalsmight have been used to cultivateaquatic plants and fish, as well asattract lake birds that were anintegral part of the prehistoric diet.The raised fields of the Lake Titi-caca region are diverse in form andin size, but generally range from 4-10 m wide, 10 to 100 m long, and are1 m tall.

The prehistoric raised fields,covering some 82,000 hectares oflow-lying land around Lake Titi-

Lake Titicaca I

LEGEND

land above 3825 m. a s l .

site

1

km

population center

raised field site

2Map showing locations mentioned in the text.

caca in both Bolivia and Peru (Fig.1), have been badly eroded by acombination of wind, rain, flood-ing, and modern urbanization, buttheir remains can be seen clearly onthe ground and in aerial photo-graphs. They were specificallyadapted to the particular environ-ment, crops, and technology avail-able to the indigenous farmers.Most of the land lies above 3800 m(12,500 feet), and nights can bebitterly cold, despite warm sunnydays. The year is divided intodistinct wet and dry seasons ofroughly six months each, but eventhis situation may vary greatly fromyear to year, producing an unpre-dictable, high-risk agricultural en-vironment. Frosts are most commonduring the dry season, and at thebeginning and end of the growing(wet) season, but may occur locallyat any time without warning,especially in low-lying depressionsat the bases of hills.

The land immediately adjacentto Lake Titicaca has a somewhat

more favorable environment for cul-tivation, mild enough for specialraces of corn to be grown in shel-tered valleys and on the islands andpeninsulas of the lake. The storedheat of the massive body of lakewater warms the areas around it, anespecially important effect at nightwhen frosts are common. Fartherfrom the lake, this warming effectdiminishes, but the entire regionaround the lake benefi ts from aslightly higher than average annualrainfall. The major obstacle to lake-side agriculture is that most of thesurrounding land is either rockysteep slope or flat, waterloggedlake plain which may be seasonallyinundated. Both areas have rela-tively poor soils and are classified asareas of limited agricultural poten-tial in government studies. Today,large rural populations are locatedin areas that have better drainage,favorable temperatures, and goodsoils, combined with access to thelacustrine resources of Lake Titi-caca.

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The rich and varied biotic re-sources of the region would havemade it an excellent location forprehistoric experimentation withdomestication of plants and dif-ferent cultivation techniques. Oncelocal peoples learned to protectfields from inundation, the pampa(the grass-covered low-lying lakeplain) would have been a relativelygood area for crop production. Infact, botanical and archaeologicalresearch indicate that the potato,quinua and cañihua (two seed cropsrich in vegetable protein), andmany other important Andeancrops were probably first domes-ticated in the Lake Titicaca region(see also K. Chavez, this issue).Selection of special traits has pro-duced crop varieties that can with-stand harsh environmental condi-tions, such as high altitude, intensesolar radiation, low nocturnal tem-peratures , and crop pests . Thenocturnal cold was put to use by theprehistoric inhabitants in an elab-orate freeze-drying techniquewhich enabled vast amounts of agri-cultural surplus to be preserved andstored indefinitely. This Andeancrop complex and its accompanyingpreservation technology, combinedwith the herding of llamas and

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alpacas and exploitation of lacus-trine resources, provided a soundsubsistence base for the civilizationsthat developed in the Lake TiticacaBasin.

The indigenous Andean agricul-tural tool inventory appears limitedin technological complexity, but ismore than adequate for the needs ofthe Andean farmer. Traditionaltools include the Andean footplow,hoe, and clod breaker which are stillthe basic tools today, although thestone and wooden blades have beenreplaced by metal blades (see Fig.10). The footplow, a remarkableimplement which is excellent forturning over blocks of tough pampasod for construction of lazy beds fortubers and for plowing stonyground on steep hillslopes, played amajor role in the development ofraised field agriculture.

The Archaeology ofRaised FieldAgriculture

Our trenches excavated throughthe prehistoric raised fields showedthat those seen today in the pampa(Fig. 3) are only the badly erodedremains of fully functioning pre-

A panorama of ancient raised field remains of the Viscachani Pampabelonging to the residents of Collana Segunda, Huatta, Peru, shows only asmall portion of the 82,000 hectares of ancient raised fields in the LakeTiticaca Basin. The lighter surfaces are water-filled canals and the darkersurfaces are raised fields or drier pampa. The project’s reconstructed raisedfields are located in the left center of the photograph (May 1986).

historic field svstems. The fieldsurfaces were’ originally muchhigher, with deep canals betweenthem, which have now becomefilled with sediment. In sometrenches, several distinct phases ofconstruction, use, reconstruction,and re-use of the f ields can bedelineated (Fig. 4). Some earlyfields were narrow ridges of 5 mwavelength (distance from canalcenter to canal center) which at alater time were expanded to largerfields of 10 m wavelength. Fromeach stratum of the trench profile,samples were obtained for pollenand soil laboratory analyses. Thedata obtained from these analysesprovide interesting insights intoprehistoric agriculture.

Soil analysis indicates that thecanal sediment, composed pri-marily of organic matter, is rich innutrients, much more so than theaverage pampa soil. In addition,soil alkalinity, a major constraint onagriculture in the lake edge soil, ismarkedly lower in the canal sedi-ments. These rich sediments wereperiodically removed from thecanals and added to the raised fieldsto improve the crop soils. Pollensamples from these excavationshave been analyzed by Dr. FredWiseman of the Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology. He finds thatpollen grains of quinua and potatoare present in many soil samplesfrom the raised fields, indicatingthat these may have been the cropsgrown on the fields. Unfortunately,

agronomists with specific data on original field form, building stages, useperiod and abandonment, and samples of soil, pollen, and artifacts. Here, soilstratigraphy is being mapped by archaeological crew members. Thesestratigraphic profiles of prehistoric fields provided the models for properreconstruction in the experiments.

there is no way to distinguish be-tween the pollen of the domes-ticated and wild strains of theseplants.

The precise dating of raisedfields presented a problem. Radio-carbon dating of material recoveredfrom the excavation of two pre-historic habitation mounds asso-ciated with raised field agricultureindicated that most of the garbagemidden and construction fi l l of

these sites dates to the period from1000 B.C. to A.D. 400 (corres-ponding to the Qaluyu and laterPucara cultures), with a smalleroccupation after A.D. 1000 (relatedto the Aymara kingdoms and subse-quent Inca occupation). However,direct dating of the raised fieldsthemselves has proven to be muchmore difficult.

Changes in field use were deter-mined through relative dating of

Vol. 30, NO. 3

5Excavations in habitation mounds provided an excellent context fordocumenting the lifeways of prehistoric farmers. The archaeological crew isexposing a floor and foundation of a house of the Pucara culture at the site ofPancha. From this floor, the archaeologist recovered cooking and servingvessels, food remains, and agricultural implements used to construct raisedfields.

the field stratigraphy, but the dura- pampa in direct association withtion of each phase could not be raised fields were earthen moundsascertained through stratigraphic that had once been small farmsteadsanalysis alone. Carbonized remains or hamlets. Several larger sites bothfor radiocarbon dating were not on the pampa and in the hills over-present in raised fields, but six looking the plain were once townspottery samples recovered from with rustic public architecture. Allstratigraphic contexts in both the that remains now are the stones thatconstruction fill and the canals served as the foundations for thecould be dated by the thermo- adobe structures. The number andluminescence technique. This tech- distribution of habitation moundsnique determines the time elapsed indicate a rather dense populationsince the original firing or last in the raised field area throughoutexposure to fire of the ceramic the prehistoric period of raised fieldvessel. These dates give us a secure use, much larger than that of today,chronology for the raised fields and surprisingly.correlate nicely with the dates from Two of the larger sites (thosethe occupation mounds. The sur- mentioned above for which datesprisingly early dates between 1000 were obtained) were partially exca-B.C. and the beginning of our era, vated, and showed evidence ofand the successive building stages long-term occupation. Theseand abandonment periods, demon- mounds were the cumulative resultstrate that the raised field system of continual rebuilding atop thewas not a brief late phenomenon as remains of older, eroded structures.previously suspected. It appears to Many of these mounds are stillhave been a relatively early agri- considered to be ideal habitationcultural development which was locations due to their elevation,expanded gradually and was used especially during the seasonal flood-by many generations of Andean ing of the pampa. Their garbagefarmers. middens yielded information about

Our archaeological survey prehistoric subsistence strategies,focused on locating the sites occu- agriculture, and ceramic and weav-pied by farmers who constructed ing technology.and maintained the raised fields Plant fragments, direct evidencearound Huatta. Most sites on the of agricultural crops preserved by

accidental carbonization, have beenrecovered by the screening andflotation processing of soils fromthe garbage midden and mound fillof habitation sites. These samplesinclude fragments of potato andpossibly other tubers, and quinua.Also identified were aquatic lakeplants and other wild plants thatcould have been used for makingmats, nets, and bags, as thatchingmaterial, or as forage for domesticanimals. Fish, camelids (probablythe domesticated alpaca and llama),guinea pig, and various aquaticbirds are represented in abundantbone material recovered in theexcavations. The floral and fauna1remains are found throughout thesequence of occupation and indi-cate a remarkable economic sta-bility. All of this evidence indicatesa prehistoric subsistence patternsimilar to that still practiced todayby lake-edge dwelling Aymara andQuechua farmers, a pattern basedon a combination of potato andquinua cultivation, herding, fishing,and intensive gathering of wild lakeresources. The recovery of thou-sands of basalt hoe fragments,polished through years of use, at-tests to their importance in the toolinventory of the ancient agriculturaltechnology. These stone hoes wereamong the implements used toconstruct the raised fields. Potteryremains included utilitarian servingand cooking vessels, in addition toceremonial or fine wares decoratedwith burnishing, incision, and paint-ing. One nearly complete housestructure belonging to the Pucaraculture (300 B.C.-A.D. 400) wasexcavated (Fig. 5), and it has manyfeatures similar to those of adobehouses with thatched roofs con-structed today in the area.

Interpretations of theExcavations

Our research results show thatlarge farming villages were settledthroughout the lake area by 1000B.C. By 300 B.C., Lake Titicacasociety had evolved sufficiently tosupport large ceremonial and popu-lation centers. The site of Pucara inthe northern lake basin has ap-proximately 42 km of urban sprawl,complete with pyramidal platformsand temples with semi-subter-

1 3

ranean courtyards (see K. Chavez,this issue). Tiahuanaco (A.D. 300-1000), one of the most impressiveAndean si tes, probably had i tshumble beginnings at this time andrapidly grew to influence most ofsouthern Peru and the Bolivian high-lands by A.D. 500 through its controlof long-distance trade, its colonies,and religious missionization (Brow-man 1978). Tiahuanaco subse-quently collapsed and was replacedby several competing Aymara king-doms around A.D. 1000. These inturn were conquered by the Incaempire around A.D. 1450. Earlierhypotheses suggested that construc-tion of raised fields and terracingwas related to the later cultures,when population stress resulted inthe development of labor-intensiveagricultural technology, and a cen-tralized bureaucracy was availableto plan, direct , and manage theagricultural systems (Smith et al.1968; Kolata 1986).

6 (above)Members of the Community ofSegunda Collana using footplows tocut sod blocks from old canals forthe retaining walls for rebuilding theraised field platforms in ViscachaniPampa, Huatta (October 1985).

7 (right)Cañihua on raised fields in Sangachi,Huatta {April 1985). All the tradi-tional Andean crops grew well onthe experimental raised fields, inaddition to introduced crops such aswinter wheat, barley, and gardenvegetables.

Our investigation suggests somealternatives. The growth of theAndean polity of Pucara at the northend of the lake basin was certainlyrelated to the expansion of raisedfield agriculture; however, this agri-culture was well established severalcenturies earlier. As Pucara’s poweras a ceremonial center was usurpedby Tiahuanaco in the southern lakebasin, raised field use appears tohave declined in the north, but itwas probably never completelyabandoned. New research indicatesthat, as might be expected, raisedfield construction at the southernend of the lake was related to thegrowth of Tiahuanaco (Kolata1986). A later resurgence of raisedfield construction occurred when anumber of independent Aymarakingdoms were established aroundthe lake after the collapse of Tia-huanaco sometime after A.D. 1000.Limited raised field use may havecontinued during the brief periodof Inca domination of the lakebasin, sometime after A.D. 1450.

Why was the use of raised fieldsdiscontinued in the northern basinafter the decline of Pucara andbefore the arrival of the Spanish?Many ideas have been put forwardto account for the abandonment ofthe system, such as climate change,devastating droughts and floods,and tectonic uplift . I f ind noneconvincing. In my opinion, theraised field construction, expansion,and abandonment relate less toenvironmental factors than to the

changes in the relative importanceof various ceremonial centers in theLake Titicaca area. As ceremonialand population centers grew, agri-culture expanded to keep pace withthem. When power and influenceshifted to other areas, productionneeds dropped and fields wereremoved from production. Some ofthe prehistoric communities in theraised field zones may have beendepopulated and the inhabitantsperhaps even forcibly removed toother locations. Although the areaand intensity of cultivation werereduced at various times in the past,raised fields were probably nevercompletely abandoned unti l thesevere depopulation of the regionthat followed the arrival of theSpanish.

Raised field technology enabledthe prehistoric inhabitants of theLake Titicaca Basin to effectivelymaximize crop production. Theearliest raised fields documented inour project do not appear to havedeveloped as the result of popu-lation stress, nor do the earliestphases of field construction and useappear to have been planned anddirected by a centralized authority.This technology may have been oneof the earliest forms of intensiveagriculture, a logical outgrowth ofearly fishing, gathering, and huntingsettled life based on the exploitationof rich lake resources. This subsis-tence strategy permitted a densepopulation of wetland-orientedpeoples to maintain sedentary lives.

1 4 Expedition, Vol. 30, No. 3

8Mature potatoes on raised fields inthe Community of Segunda Collanain Viscachani Pampa, Huatta.Platf orms and canals areapproximately 10 m wide each(February 1985). The canals,originally between 1.0-l .5 m deep,accumulate rich organic silts andaquatic vegetation that can beperiodically used on raised fields forsustained production. The canalscollect and store solar energy toprevent frosts, conserve water foruse during periodic droughts, andmay have been used for raising fish.

Experiments in Raised Field Agriculture, dense cold air from

aces into theMore detailed information about 10 metric tons. This figure is much to drain heavy

raised fields as an agricultural tech- larger than today’s average potato the elevated field surf:nology was gained from the construc- production figures of between 1 canals, Frost drainage tion and cultivation of several ex- and 4 metric tons per hectare for the played a role in this effect, but theperimental fields. An excavated Department of Puno. These larger data indicate that the presence ofarchaeological trench provides ori- yields are especially significant water in the canals was most impor-ginal canal depth and ridge spacing, because we used local and im- tant. In order to test this hypothesis,and the experimental fields were proved potato variet ies without we conducted an investigation ofconstructed to these specifications fertilizers in the experiments (Fig. the local climate of the experi-by local Quechua farmers using 8), while most of the potato fields mental raised fields. Continuoustraditional agricultural implements upon which the current regional records of incoming and outgoingavailable in all households (foot- estimates for Puno are based were energy were collected using sensi-plow, hoe, clodbreaker, shovel, and fertilized, We have also demon- tive meteorological instrumentspick). The traditional Andean tools strated that high yields can be both for an experimental raisedproved to be excellent implements sustained for several years of con- field and for nearby non-raisedideally suited for the preparation of tihuous cropping. Green manure field areas, The study indicated thatraised fields, It was found that the produced in the canals, including during a night of light frost in theeasiest, most efficient method of nitrogen fixing algae, can be used to growing season, soil and air tem-construct ion involved teams of replenish depleted soil nutrients on peratures on the raised fields were athree people; two used footplows to the fields after several years of couple of degrees Celsius higher,cut blocks of sod from the old continuous cropping. The canals and the frost was of several hourscanals between the ridges (Fig. 6). were also productive in another shorter duration than on nearbywhile the third tossed the sod blocks way. Various useful aquatic plants, regular fields. The water tem-onto the old field surface, In this valuable resources in prehistoric peratures in the canals between theway, a thick layer of rich organic times, rapidly colonized the water. raised fields were even warmertopsoil, a perfect medium for cul- Fish might have been raised in the than that of the soil and air, indi-tivation, was rapidly built up on the deeper canals, providing a useful cating that the water acts as a heateroded field surface. It was cal- source of protein to supplement a sink for storage of solar energy. Weculated that for each hour of work, diet based on starchy tubers while suggest that this energy is releasedthe team could move three cubic at the same time increasing the slowly at night, when frosts aremeters of earth, a construction rate nitrogen content of the canal muck. most common, blanketing the sur-much faster than had been ex- The value of raised fields in the rounding fields in warmer air. Al-

cold Lake Titicaca Basin was drama- though the increase in temperaturesMajor crops native to the Andean tically demonstrated during a is only slight, our experience in-

highlands were cultivated on the severe local frost in 1982. Crops in dicates that it was enough and that itexperimental raised fields. Of the nearby fields were severely dam- may have been very important incrops planted, potatoes, quinua, aged, while potatoes cultivated on minimizing the risks due to frostsand cañihua (Fig. 7) produced the our experimental raised fields suf- for the prehistoric farmers of thegreatest yields. Potato production fered only minimal damage and zone, both lessening crop damageduring five years of experimen- quickly recovered. Several inves- during the growing season andtation was between 8 and 16 metric t igators have hypothesized that actually extending the season.tons per hectare, with an average of raised field micro-topography tends

Simple cultivation on the floatingislands as practiced today by theUru of the Bay of Puno would havebeen a preadaptation to raised fieldagriculture, which was later ex-panded to include lake and riveredge cultivation. Population ap-pears to have grown along withagricultural expansion. Labor fig-ures calculated from the experi-mental raised fields indicate thatconstruction was not necessarilylabor intensive, especially if fieldswere built and used over manygenerations. Field maintenance wasfound to be minimal in the experi-ments, but may increase after sev-eral years of cultivation. If fieldscan be continually used, with fer-tility maintained through the peri-odic application of decomposedorganic matter from the canals, theinitial labor investment for fieldconstruction is offset by the long-term benefits of continuous fertilitycombined with a high yield.

Raised Field Technology and RuralDevelopment

Countries such as Peru and Bo-livia often use models from moretechnologically advanced nationsto develop their agriculture andindustry. A succession of apparentlysophisticated development projectsin the Lake Titicaca region havefailed and in some cases we candetermine why. For instance, cer-tain projects have attempted tointroduce capital-intensive agri-culture that depends primarily onpetro-chemical fertilizers, heavyfarm machinery, imported seed,irrigation pumps, or special animalforage, none of which the small-scale farmer can afford. Otherprojects have been oriented to-wards producing cash crops, butsmall farmers who produce a cashcrop on their land often cannotmake enough profit to buy food fortheir family, food they would other-wise produce themselves. In mostcases, the majority of the farmershave not benefited from suchdevelopment projects.

A more effective approach todevelopment is through what isreferred to as “appropriate tech-

Community lands are cultivated today by representatives from each familyhousehold, an old Andean pattern of communal labor. Here, the finalconstruction of a large raised field platform of the Community of Yasin inChojñocoto, Huatta. Loose soil is tossed on the field using carrying cloths tocreate a convex surface over the sod blocks which make up the fill(September 1985).

nology.” This approach stresses theuse of traditional forms of tech-nology and ecologically soundmodern forms that are not capitalintensive. In the Andes, there is alarge work force available, but littlecapital. Since communal workforces are the traditional form oflabor organization, an appropriatetechnology that is more easilyadopted by peasant communitieswould involve cooperative labor(Fig. 9). Besides increasing produc-tivity of land now under cultivation,time-tested agricultural systemssuch as raised fields could be usedin areas that are not currentlyfarmed, such as on the vast pampaof the Lake Titicaca Basin.

In order to make the informationcollected through our archaeologi-cal and agronomic studies availableas appropriate technology to thepresent-day Quechua and Aymarafarmers of the area, a small-scaledevelopment project, the RaisedField Agricultural Project, began in1982. We formed a multidiscipli-nary team, combining archaeology,cultural anthropology, agronomy,and agricultural communications

that worked directly with indigen-ous farmers for over five years torehabilitate the raised field system.Working with the small farmers ofcommunities in Huatta and Coata(Fig. 10), 10 hectares of raised fieldsthat had been abandoned or under-utilized for centuries were put backinto use on communal lands. TheProject, in cooperation with theSwiss government and the PeruvianMinistry of Agriculture, designedand prepared a intensive videotraining program in Quechua, inaddition to written textbook mater-ials, to rapidly disseminate theancient technology.

Our applied archaeological pro-gram has finally begun to have animpact. In 1986-87, Ignacio Garay-cochea, an agronomist who con-ducted many of the experiments,directed a government-sponsoredproject in collaboration with 10Quechua communities. In our re-cent 1989 evaluation, we calculatethat 100 hectares are now in produc-tion. A measure of the success ofthis project is that many individualfarmers have begun to build raisedfields on their own private land.

16

Not only can the Quechua- andAymara-speaking peoples takegreat pride in the sophist icatedagricultural technology of theirancestors, but they can actuallyapply i t to solve some of thecontemporary economic and agri-cultural problems of Peru andBolivia. The farmers of the com-munities participating in rehabili-tating raised fields are taking thats tep. The high product ivi ty ofraised field technology not onlyhelps to support the growing popu-lations of the towns and cities of theregion where many small farmershave had to migrate in search of al ivel ihood, but also helps us tounderstand and preserve this tech-nology for the future. It is ironic thatsuch an immensely important andproductive technology is being

Quechua farmers of Yasin, Huatta, holding traditional Andean tools: the destroyed in many areas aroundrawkana or hoe (woman second from left in front row), the waqtana or clod Lake Titicaca by modern plowbreaker (woman at right end of first row), and the chakitaqlla or footplow farming, urbanization, and road-(men in back row). After several years of successful harvests, many building. community groups and individual families in the region collaborated with theproject, donating the use of communal land and their labor in return forpotato seed and the subsequent harvest from the experimental fields(October 1982).

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