Vertical archipelago

The vertical archipelago is a special way of farming and sharing resources used by people in the Andes mountains. This idea was first described by a sociologist named John Victor Murra, who was inspired by an economist named Karl Polanyi.

Instead of relying on buying and selling, these communities traded goods and worked together, especially during the time of the Inca Empire.

This system was clever because it used the different climates found at various heights in the mountains. Each level had its own plants and animals, so people could grow many kinds of food and gather useful resources. There were four main areas at different elevations, which helped make sure everyone had what they needed throughout the year. This way of life shows how resourceful and connected the Andean people were in taking care of their environment and each other.

Overview

Most highland Andean societies, like the Quechua and Aymara, did not rely on markets for trade. Instead, they worked together through a system called mink'a. In this system, everyone helped with community projects like building or farming. This system was based on ayni, meaning reciprocity, and did not use money.

Because the Andes mountains have very different areas with different weather and resources, these communities had to travel to different places to grow various crops or raise animals. They formed small groups or moved seasonally to find the right conditions for their needs. This way, they could get everything they required without depending on trade with others.

Ecozones

The Andean region has four main ecozones, each with its own plants and animals. The quechua zone is warm and low. It is good for growing maize. The suni zone is higher. People grow quinoa, kaniwa, kiwicha, and potatoes there. The puna zone is cold and grassy. It is good for raising llama and alpaca herds. The montaña zone is wet and forested. Plants like tobacco and coca grow there. Colorful feathers from birds like macaws are collected.

Under the Inca

See also: Mit'a

The Inca state collected taxes by taking goods and asking people to work for the community. This work, called corvée labor, helped build roads, aqueducts, and storage buildings known as tampu and qollqa. The Incas had special groups of people, called mitmaqkuna, who lived in different places and helped provide goods and security. Lands owned by the ruler, the Sapa Inca, the state church, and some families were arranged to give the Incas access to many resources from different climates and conditions. The terraces at Moray were likely used to test which crops grew best in different environments. These terraces created different temperatures and humidities, known as microclimates, to grow many types of crops.