Soil management in pre‐Hispanic raised field systems: Micromorphological evidence from Hacienda Zuleta, Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract Soils‐based evidence derived from thin section micromorphology is used to explore contrasts in pre‐Hispanic and Hispanic arable land management practices associated with raised fields in an inter‐Andean valley of Ecuador. Differences in textural pedofeature characteristics suggest that, where they are found in the same locality, camellón systems were more intensively manured and cultivated than wachu systems. Both, however, were more intensively managed than traditional Hispanic arable fields. The importance of the camellón in pre‐Hispanic agriculture is emphasized by soils‐based evidence that highlights the efforts made to clear these fields of volcanic ash after the Quilotoa eruption of ca. A.D. 1280. This research suggests that, in an andosol context, pre‐Hispanic and Hispanic arable land management practices leave relict and fossil soil micromorphology features that can be used to interpret land use intensities. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.