Incan Food

Table of Contents
Introduction1
Incan Farming and Agriculture2
Incan Vegetation..3
Special Incan food4
Every day Incan food.5
Facts............................6

Incan farming and agriculture

The Incas had many different ways of farming and
agriculture. To start the Incas used farming and
agriculture for everyday life. Lamas and alpacas were the
main domestic animals for their food. they would leave
potatoes outside in the cold and then stomp on them in
the morning to push out the water and allow them to dry
in the sun. The Tiahuanaco culture partly resembles the
one of the Incas. Nobody went hungry in the Incan
empire. The commoners ate little meat but all people ate
well. The Incas were the first to grow potatoes.
To the Incas the art of agriculture was a supreme
interest. They carried it to a remarkable extreme
attracting more importance to it

Many Incans got there food from farming

and growing their own crops, also
sometimes from their animals. Incan have
many different foods for many different occasions. First, lamas and alpacas were
the main domestic animal for their food. The Incans ate oca a root vegetable. The
Incan developed agriculture systems and plants they could grow in these diverse
habits and they were able to grow enough food to feed 15 million people with
primitive technology and also have a 3 to 7 year surplus. Incans lived in the
mountains with a lot of flat land so they had a very good place for planting. They
simply created flat land by building steps of land for agriculture down the
mountain side. Instead of rain water running down the mountain side they
channeled it through each step. They borrowed seeds and roots from their
conquered neighbors and forcibly spread a wealth of food crops throughout their
empire, even into regions where they were previously unknown. Amaranth grains
formed a large part of the Incan diet. Incans had many foods they cooked and ate
that made them heathy. By the 1500 the Incans were cultivating more than 200
varieties of potato, a process that continues in the Andes highlands today. Oca
another important root crop, the hardy oca plant is well suited for harsh, high
altitude environments.

Study Questions:
What type of plant was the oca plant?
How did the Incan persevere their water?
How many people could their amount of food feed?

Daily Incan Food

By Josh Woelfel

The Incas were a very civilized civilization as they met the basic
food guide lines, which included meat, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
Incas were very similar to modern societies in their eating habits. For
example, the poor would eat frogs and insects; compared to the
wealthy, who would eat duck and deer. Incas also had vegetables and
nuts, such as walnuts and quinoa, which were the size of an infants
hand. They had yucca just like what could be seen in a backyard today.
They would eat the roots of the yucca. Also, the Incas ate dried
seaweed. Furthermore, the Incas could only hunt Guanaco (duck) if
they were privileged or royal. While some of the delicacies differ, the
Incas ate the same stuff as many modern-day Americans well, it was
the same food groups at least.
Study Questions
1. What did the poor eat?

3. What did the rich eat?

2. What plant did they eat that was able to be found in your back yard ?