“Putting the Rise of the Inca Empire within a Climatic and Land Management Context”

Alex Chepstow-Lusty et al. | from Multimedia Library Collection:
Periodicals

Chepstow-Lusty, Alex, M. R. Frogley, B. S. Bauer, M. J. Leng, K. P. Boessenkool, C. Carcaillet, A. A. Ali, and A. Gioda. “Putting the Rise of the Inca Empire within a Climatic and Land Management Context.” Climate of the Past 5, no. 3 (2009): 375–88.

The rapid expansion of the Inca from the Cuzco area of highland Peru (ca. AD 1400–1532) produced the largest empire in the New World. Although this meteoric growth may in part be due to the adoption of innovative societal strategies, supported by a large labor force and a standing army, we argue that it would not have been possible without increased crop productivity, which was linked to more favorable climatic conditions. (From the authors’s abstract.)

2009 Alex Chepstow-Lusty, M. R. Frogley, B. S. Bauer, M. J. Leng, K. P. Boessenkool, C. Carcaillet, A. A. Ali, and A. Gioda.. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Made available on the Environment & Society Portal for nonprofit educational purposes only, courtesy of Copernicus GmbH and the European Geosciences Union.