Andean agriculture: What were the Inca buildings in Moray?

02. 12. 2021
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The ruins of the last pre-Columbian civilization, the famous Inca Empire, can be found in the South American state of Peru. Once a prosperous and rich civilization, it is now a tourist attraction located in the Peruvian mountains and valleys. The Inca culture still tells its history, which happened thousands of years ago. While Peru has many Inca ruins, one of the places that arouses more and more interest are strange buildings in Moray.

These ruins are located in the center Sacred area Valley near the Inca capital Cusco, and are evidence of the Inca lifestyle and livelihood. However, the buildings in Moray are still a mystery. At first glance, this seems to be an agricultural experiment that has left some of the most unusual ruins in this vast empire. They say that the city of Cusco was once the epicenter of the Inca Empire. It is therefore no surprise that the vast and stunning ruins of Moray are located just 50 km from present-day Cusco. You will find them west of a small village called Maras, which is famous for its salt plains. These ruins are located at an altitude of 3500 m above sea level, high in the distant Andes.

What does the name Moray mean?

The word Moray has different meanings in different languages. In the Inca language, Moray translates as land occupied since ancient times. Due to the fact that the structure and surroundings of the Moray circles still remain largely untouched, they only remotely resemble ruins. But the way the Incas created them fully matches the meaning of the name. But there may be other meanings behind the name. Some people believe that the name Moray comes from Anymore others that it is the name of the month of the Inca calendar associated with the corn harvest. 

60% of the world's basic crops come from this part of the Andes, including almost 2000 potato species.

Some historians believe that Anymore was the Inca name for the month of May, which was a typical month for growing crops. Ruins Moray they seem to be ancient agricultural laboratory, hence the name Moray can be inspired various agricultural activities. It may also be one of the many Andean designations for dehydrated potatoes known as moraya.

Terrace agriculture

Circles in the Moray Rock are breathtaking, which is why they are a very popular tourist destination. Several large bowl-shaped depressions fit into the natural shape of the landscape with concentric terraces descending into the central open space deep below. The overall appearance of the whole building is very reminiscent of nature amphitheater.

natural amphitheater

The building is the largest in the middle of the structure and the smallest around the outer circle. The circles gradually thin out and take on the shape of a wave or falling circles. Circles they descend to a depth of almost 150 meters. The descending circular terraces flow into each other, and the most ingenious on this building is that nor the central circle it never really floods. The circular terraces are connected several stairs, thanks to which it is possible to easily go from the upper to the lower circles. Six other elliptical terraces surround the concentric shapes of the main terraces, which mimic the natural shape of the valley.

So each descending circle offers irrigated land, and each is a little different. This led to the conclusion that the Incas operated the so-called ,, terrace agriculture,.

Terrace stairs

It exists here eight terraced stairsthat connect the circles with ellipses, which offers additional climate variations for growing crops. Thanks to terraced agriculture so the ancient Incas could feed their people, which was not easy in the local landscape. The Moray microclimate is not ideal for agriculture, the local Andes are really huge and the altitude leads to sudden weather changes, sudden frosts and strong winds.

The different depth and location of the building thus helped to create ideal conditions for growing crops. The drainage system also ensured that different circuits received different amounts of water and that the more sheltered lower terraces even had their own microclimate. Between the upper and lowest circles of the entire Moray building is a difference of 15 ° C, which creates different climatic conditions on each of the terraces. Many sites remained intact, so even today, soil samples from Moray show clear differences in composition. It seems that the Incas brought here various types of land taken from all over the empire.

Each terrace seems to offer a unique environment for growing crops.

The presence of microclimate, various drainage systems and the complex composition of the soil show how sophisticated this agricultural laboratory was. It was a place where the Incas perfected their domestication and mass production of some of 2000 varieties of potatoes and other basic crops, which come from this part of the Andes.

Sophisticated irrigation

Another fascinating fact is that even with heavy Peruvian rain, Moray's circles remain well watered but never completely flooded. Greenhouse Moray circles therefore, they have been thought through and built in detail, which is why we are able to understand this locality and culture more today. However, there is still a threat of erosion and land subsidence due to time and climate change. For example, in In the period 2009-2010, the Moray and Cusco circles were hit by unnaturally heavy rainfallthat caused permanent damage to the ruins. The soil under the structure partially eroded due to rainwater flow, which led to a partial collapse of the structure. Authorities around the structure built temporary wooden scaffolding to stop further erosion and damage. Repairs and restoration work on Moray is still ongoing. Historians and researchers are trying to do everything possible to stop the decay of this historical monument.

The ruins of Moray are an architectural and scientific marvel, and are a silent testimony to the ingenuity of the Inca Empire. The scale and sophistication of this agricultural experiment shows that it was a priority for this Andean civilization to take care of its people.

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