Further Reading
Bauer, Brian S. The Sacred Landscape of the Inca: The Cuzco Ceque System. Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1998.
———. Ancient Cuzco. Heartland of the Inca. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004.
Stanish, Charles, and Brian S. Bauer. Archaeological Research on the Islands of the Sun and Moon. Lake
Titicaca, Bolivia: Final Results from the Proyecto Tiksi Kjarka. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at
UCLA, Monograph 52. Santa Fe, NM: Leyba Associates, 2004.
■KRZYSZTOF MAKOWSKI
TERRACING
Terracing greatly increases the amount of arable land by providing flat areas for
planting. This is especially advantageous in a region with sloping terrain. While
the remains of extensive terrace systems still sculpt the Andes, even more land
was terraced during Inca times. Of the roughly two and one-half million acres of
terraced land in this region, however, only about 40 percent are currently in use.
While it is not certain whether the remaining 60 percent was built or used during
Inca times, it is clear that the Incas often developed and expanded agricultural
land when they conquered a given region, targeting specific areas for extensive
terracing and irrigation schemes.
Peg steps on a terrace at the royal estate of Tipón south of Cuzco provided easy
access for movement between terraces. Adriana von Hagen.