5/12/15
(A slightly altered version of this article was published in The Explorer’s Journal in tandem with a longer piece by archaeologist Gary Ziegler, you can email us for a pdf of the article)
Possible Relictual Anthropogenic Vegetation at Choquequirao
At the time of Spanish contact the Inca had highly diverse agriculture (National Research Council 1989) and a complex relationship with trees which were intimately associated with the ancestors (Ansion 1986, Sherbondy 1986). Harnessing the fecundity of the land was an integral expression of Incan power (Dean 2011). We know the Inca had a priest class, the Mallki-camayoc, dedicated to agroforestry (Sherbondy 1986, Johannessen and Hastorf 1990) and were actively planting forests before the Spanish arrival (Chepstow-Lusty and Winfield 2000). Despite such documentation, the first thing done at most archaeological sites is vegetation removal without considering its historical, cultural and conservation value. Assessing the vegetation at Andean archaeological sites has been largely overlooked, yet may provide another important view towards better understanding past cultures and their ecological relations. With this in mind, we conducted a cursory floristic inventory of the cloudforest at Choquequirao during our short time there in May 2014. Given our temporal constrictions, this should only be considered a brief initial survey and is by no means exhaustive. We counted over 70 species of plants from 42 families. About two-thirds of these species have some known cultural significance or ethnobotanical usage. This diversity would appear to be considerably higher than the cloudforest just outside the archaeological site, but further observations would need to be made to conclusively confirm this. To what degree this high diversity is due to the favorable microclimates, water and nutrient catchment of the topography of the ruins or is the result of Incan horticultural practices warrants further study. The absence of any Spanish introduced plants helps to confirm Choquequirao’s isolation during and after the conquest. Further pollen studies, analysis of carbon remains and wood utilized in construction at the site would also give us deeper insight into the vegetation of Choquequirao and how it has changed over the centuries.
The following three species are the ones we think are most likely Incan relicts:
Ceroxylon sp.– Only about a dozen specimens of this palm were observed in the vicinity of the section of ruins referred to as the ridge group or pikiwasi. The tallest were about 8 m (26′) tall with hemipsherical crowns of large pinnate leaves. Ceroxylon is an endangered Andean endemic taxon with 6 species reported from Peru. Utilized for construction and thatching, the waxy coating on the stems has been used for candle production and the fruit of some species is edible (Sanin & Galeano 2011). Ceroxylon quindiuense is reported from the Chachapoyas ruins in Amazonas Dept., Peru and is utilized in agroforestry of the region (Galeano et. al. 2008). There have been very limited herbarium collections of C. parvifrons and C. vogelianum from near the Apurimac (Sanin & Galeano 2011). Taxonomically the plants at Choquequirao are closest to C. vogelianum but morphological variation keep us from clearly identifying as that species. It is highly probable that occurrence of Ceroxylon at Choquequirao is anthropogenic.
Cedrela angustifolia– “Andean mahogany”, “Cedro”. A large tree to 45m (150′), this Andean species is documented within much of the former Incan empire: from southern Ecuador to northern Argentina (Pennington & Muellner 2010). Highly valued and overharvested for its durable wood, it is now rare throughout most of its range, though known historically to have been much more abundant (Gade 1999). Common at Choquequirao, specimens of all sizes occur. It may be worthwhile to conduct dendritic analysis of the larger trees to assess their age.
Solanum ochranthum– This is an unusual woody tomato vine that grows to 10m (33′) tall and bears large, thick skinned, green fruit with an edible pulp. It has a broad distribution from Columbia to southern Peru, though locally rare. Its reported occurence in Chachapoyas, Machu Picchu and now Choquequirao suggests possible anthropogenic dispersal. (Peralta et. al. 2008).
To mention just a few of the other culturally important tree species that are common at Choquequirao– Escallonia resinosa “chachacomo”, Hesperomeles ferruginea “mayu manzana, Piper elongatum “mocomoco”, Vallea stipularis“chijllur”, and a few possible agricultural relicts: Arracacia sp. “arracacha”, Bomarea sp. “sullusullu”, Cypella sp. “chulluco”, Physalis peruviana “aguaymanto”.
Ben Kamm is an independent ethnobotanical researcher and conservationist based in northern California.
REFERENCES
Ansion, J. 1986 El arbol y el bosque en la sociedad Andina. Proyecto FAO-Holanda/INFOR. Lima, Peru.
Chepstow-Lusty, A. and Winfield, M. 2000 Inca Agroforestry: Lessons from the Past. Ambio Vol 29 No. 6, 322-328
Dean, C. 2011. Inka water management and the symbolic dimensions of display fountains. Res 59/60 Anthropology and aesthetics. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
Gade, D.W. 1999 Nature and Culture in the Andes. University of Wisconsin Press.
Galeano, G., Sanin, M.J., Mejia, K., Pintaud, K-C., and Milan, B. 2008. Novelties in the genus Ceroxylon (Arecaceae) from Peru, with description of a new species. Rev. peru. biol. 15 (suppl. 1): 065-072–The palms in South America
Johannessen, S. and Hastorf, C. 1990 A history of fuel management (A.D. 500 to the present) in the Mantaro Valley, Peru. J. Ethnobiology 10, 61-90
National Research Council. 1989 Lost Crops of the Incas. National Acadamy Press, Washington, D.C.
Pennington, T.D. and Muellner, A.N. 2010 Monograph of Cedrela (Meliaceae). dh Books, England.
Peralta, I.E., Spooner, D.M., Knapp, S. 2008. Taxonomy of Wild Tomatoes and their Relatives (Solanum sect. Lycoperiscoides, sect. Juglandifolia, sect. Lycoperscicon; Solanaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs Vol. 84. The American Society of Plant Taxonomists
Sanin, M.J. and Galeano, G. 2011. A revision of Andean wax palms, Ceroxylon (Arecaceae). Phytotaxa 34, 1–64
Sherbondy, J.E. 1986 Mallki: Ancestros y cultivo de arboles in los Andes. Documento de trabajo no. 5 Proyecto FAO-Holanda/INFOR/GCP/PER/027/NET. Lima, Peru
copyright Ben Kamm 2015