There are three types of terraces which belong to the New World natives. The first is comprised of fields supported by walls constructed across a narrow valley, which were originally occupied by an intermittent stream. The agricultural areas of these territories are usually level allowing water to drain into the reservoirs from around the surrounding slopes. The terrace’s effectiveness, durability and design suggests that this was the earliest form of terracing in the New World.
The second type of
terracing is known as lateral or contour terracing. There are many variations
of this type of terrace. At one end, a natural slope is modified, while at the
other end substantial walls are built to support the different branches of
irrigation. This is a more advanced type of terrace because it takes a better
understanding of technology and engineering.
The third type of terracing is the most rarely found. It is referred to as a valley floor terrace. This terrace has walls or mounds which lie at 90 degree angles toward the direction of the drainage. The wide planting areas are level, allowing irrigation to be drawn from a higher point.
The oldest system of agricultural
terracing is found in the valley of Mexico at Teotihuacan, and in the central
and southern Andes. However, terracing is linked more to the Andes, than it is
to the areas of Middle America, although agricultural terracing was practiced
in all areas of Latin America. The cultural practice of terrace farming is now
almost abandoned, possibly because of problems of physical engineering and
water.
Most of the terrace gardens, which are located in both Middle America and South America, were used to plant potatoes. These potato plants were the main crop used by the Inca people in South America and the Andes. The terracing in the central Andes, however, has received less attention than the areas located in Central America.
This may be due to the large populations in Central America, as opposed to that of the South American Inca.
Killion, Thomas W. Gardens of Prehistory: The Archaeology of Settlement Agriculture in Greater Mesoamerica. Tuscaloosa, 1992.
Donkin, R. A. Agriculture Terracing in the Aboriginal
New World. Tucson, 1979.