DOI Artikel:
Schjellerup, Inge R.: Observations on ridged fields and terracing systems in the northern highlands of Peru
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49002#0106
OBSERVATIONS ON RIDGED FIELDS
AND TERRACING SYSTEMS IN THE
NORTHERN HIGHLANDS OF PERU
By
Inge Schjellerup
Recent years have seen a growing interest in
pre-Columbian cultivation systems found in
the Andean countries (e.g. Swanson 1955;
Denevan 1970, Donkin 1977; Andrews
1983).
Irrigation, terracing and drainage systems
in the central highlands have been described
by B.Bonavia 1970, Ian Farrington 1982,
and others but so far no studies have been
undertaken in the northern highlands of
Peru on the eastern slopes of the Andes.
Brief comments on the existence of terracing
systems have been made by Middendorf
(1895) and Savoy (1970) on this eastern side
of the Maranon river - a main tributary to
the River Amazon further north.
In the course of several archaeolo-
gical/ethno-historical fieldwork trips in the
district of Chuquibamba, Province of
Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas,
Peru (Schjellerup 1980), I have observed
various remnants of old, abandoned pre-his-
panic cultivation systems at altitudes of
3200-3800 m in different parts of the district.
They show a rich variety of ingenious de-
vices for cultivating land in areas with abun-
dant rainfall and in a very rugged mountain-
ous terrain where agricultural land is scarce.
This paper describes and comments on some
ridged fields and terracing systems in the
area which in some cases are combined with
each other.
The district of Chuquibamba (6° 56', 77°
51') covers an area of about 30,000 ha
stretching from 900 m above sea level at the
riverside of Maranon to altitudes of more
than 4600 m. No road yet enters the district
(fig. 1). More than two thirds of the district
lies over 3000 m. The eastern part is located
on the eastern slopes of the Andes in the so-
called ceja de montaha (eyebrow of the jung-
le), where rainfall is abundant the whole year
through, though less pronounced from June
to August. No climatic information is avail-
able from the area, which is still terra incog-
nita for scientists. My 1984 notations for
May till August give a mean daily tempera-
ture of 13° C in the district town of Chu-
quibamba at 2800 m. At 3500 m a mean daily
temperature of 7° was noted for the same
months. Frost is frequent in the nights at this
time of the year.
Several attempts have been made by geo-
graphers and botanists to classify Andean
zonation (Tosi 1960; Weberbauer 1945; Vi-
dal 1946) where the altitude, inclination and
vertical location are important determinants
of the vegetation. The upper part, the Jalka
of the Chuquibamba district is situated in
the life zone, which Tosi classifies as paramo
muy humedo subalpino y tundra peruvial al-
pino (rain tundra). In “Mapa ecologico del
Peru”, 1976, the life zones in the Jalka may
be classified as Paramo pluvial subalpino
tropical and bosque pluvial — montano tropi-
cal. Vidal classifies the zones as sum and
AND TERRACING SYSTEMS IN THE
NORTHERN HIGHLANDS OF PERU
By
Inge Schjellerup
Recent years have seen a growing interest in
pre-Columbian cultivation systems found in
the Andean countries (e.g. Swanson 1955;
Denevan 1970, Donkin 1977; Andrews
1983).
Irrigation, terracing and drainage systems
in the central highlands have been described
by B.Bonavia 1970, Ian Farrington 1982,
and others but so far no studies have been
undertaken in the northern highlands of
Peru on the eastern slopes of the Andes.
Brief comments on the existence of terracing
systems have been made by Middendorf
(1895) and Savoy (1970) on this eastern side
of the Maranon river - a main tributary to
the River Amazon further north.
In the course of several archaeolo-
gical/ethno-historical fieldwork trips in the
district of Chuquibamba, Province of
Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas,
Peru (Schjellerup 1980), I have observed
various remnants of old, abandoned pre-his-
panic cultivation systems at altitudes of
3200-3800 m in different parts of the district.
They show a rich variety of ingenious de-
vices for cultivating land in areas with abun-
dant rainfall and in a very rugged mountain-
ous terrain where agricultural land is scarce.
This paper describes and comments on some
ridged fields and terracing systems in the
area which in some cases are combined with
each other.
The district of Chuquibamba (6° 56', 77°
51') covers an area of about 30,000 ha
stretching from 900 m above sea level at the
riverside of Maranon to altitudes of more
than 4600 m. No road yet enters the district
(fig. 1). More than two thirds of the district
lies over 3000 m. The eastern part is located
on the eastern slopes of the Andes in the so-
called ceja de montaha (eyebrow of the jung-
le), where rainfall is abundant the whole year
through, though less pronounced from June
to August. No climatic information is avail-
able from the area, which is still terra incog-
nita for scientists. My 1984 notations for
May till August give a mean daily tempera-
ture of 13° C in the district town of Chu-
quibamba at 2800 m. At 3500 m a mean daily
temperature of 7° was noted for the same
months. Frost is frequent in the nights at this
time of the year.
Several attempts have been made by geo-
graphers and botanists to classify Andean
zonation (Tosi 1960; Weberbauer 1945; Vi-
dal 1946) where the altitude, inclination and
vertical location are important determinants
of the vegetation. The upper part, the Jalka
of the Chuquibamba district is situated in
the life zone, which Tosi classifies as paramo
muy humedo subalpino y tundra peruvial al-
pino (rain tundra). In “Mapa ecologico del
Peru”, 1976, the life zones in the Jalka may
be classified as Paramo pluvial subalpino
tropical and bosque pluvial — montano tropi-
cal. Vidal classifies the zones as sum and