Andean Terrace Agriculture

Timeline

1. -500–1000Wari and Tiwanaku cultural zone · PeruFrom Chavín to Wari times, Andean peoples built stone terrace platforms on slopes, with canals, drainage ditches, and soil-warming techniques, enabling stable cultivation of multiple crops at high altitudes and laying the foundation for empire-scale grain collection.
2. c. 1071–1080Northern Peruvian coast and central highlands · PeruAround 1071–1080, after the Wari collapse, regional polities inherited and maintained existing terrace networks; coastal polities such as Chimú relied on highland terrace grain and irrigated agriculture to support urban populations and crafts, making terrace management a core local administrative function.
3. 1400–1530Machu Picchu and the Moray experimental terraces · CuscoThe Inca Empire massively expanded terraces across the Andes; facilities such as the circular terraces of Moray demonstrated microclimate experimentation and varietal breeding; terrace agriculture became the material foundation of imperial grain collection (mit'a) and the road network.