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Melodic_Survey_4712 t1_jd12nbb wrote

Didn’t all human civilizations do this?

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emmacoudertzk t1_jd13u0k wrote

Of course, it's like our ancient ancestors were the OGs of plant-based diets and meal prep.

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Dragmire800 t1_jd25r1l wrote

Not the various Inuit societies. They’re all about that meat life

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NoIce1551 t1_jd2bqxh wrote

not like the incas, their potatoes biodiversity is insane

the whole subject here is not that they just bred plants, is how much they bred plants in a sistematical way to improve biodiversity in all aspects of agriculture

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snazzynewshoes t1_jd50rej wrote

The Inca were relatively late to the party. There were many civilizations in the Andes before them. A Prehistory of South America by Moore is a good over-view, if you are into that kinda stuff.

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NoIce1551 t1_jd56obu wrote

yes, good point

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snazzynewshoes t1_jd5k8uc wrote

Look at a map of the South American West cost. Notice all the rivers that run from the Andes to the ocean. The people on the ocean, fished. A bit farther up, folks grew cotton for the nets and other crops(some great feats of water engineering). When ya get into elevation, that's where ya get ALL those potato varieties. And the inhabitants knew which varieties grew in which micro-climate.

Wiki says potatoes were grown as early as 8K BCE. The inca didn't really flex their muscles until the 1400ish.

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