An archaeological investigation of raised field agriculture in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Peru

The remains of raised fields found throughout various regions of the Americas are a remarkable tribute to the farming and engineering skills of the prehispanic inhabitants of these areas. Raised field agriculture enabled dense populations to exist under environmental conditions that are today considered to be marginal for agricultural production.; This dissertation focuses on the evolutionary history and ecology of raised field agriculture in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Peru. Raised field origins, their relationship to population, and the social organization and labor necessary for their construction and maintenance are addressed. Specific issues regarding (1) the process of intensification of agriculture and agricultural change and (2) the relationship between social organization and intensive agricultural systems are investigated.; The results of archaeological survey, excavation and experimentation conducted between 1981 and 1986 indicate that (1) raised field agriculture appears relatively early; (2) raised field agriculture, although intensive in terms of cropping frequency and high production rates, is not necessarily labor intensive; (3) long-term sustained yields relative to low total labor input make this a very efficient agricultural system; and (4) the construction and management of raised fields are well within the means of individual farming families and locally organized social groups, and do not necessarily require the mechanisms of a centralized bureaucracy to ensure their use and functioning.; Thermoluminescence dates from ceramics within raised fields provided critical data of construction and use periods of the agricultural system. Two phases were defined by the excavations. Phase I began sometime before 1000 B.C. and lasted until A.D. 400, and was associated with the early farming cultures in the basin and the later Pukara culture. Phase II began ca. A.D. 1000 and lasted until ca. A.D. 1450, and was associated with the Late Intermediate Aymara Kingdoms of the zone.; It is argued that raised field agriculture developed early as an outgrowth of a wetland-oriented economy similar to that practiced by the ethnic group referred to in the colonial and ethnographic literature as "Uru." This economy provided a stable and rich base for early sedentary occupation of the lake shallows and a preadaptation for early raised field farming.