From Heaven to Earth: Climate, Natural Resources, and Agricultural Engineering in the Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Andean region of Peru preserves extraordinary examples of interaction between agricultural engineering, land use and climate adaptation. Among these, the terraces of Moray and the salt flats of Maras, a few kilometers from Cusco, constitute a wonderful testimony to the advanced knowledge possessed by ancient Andean civilizations regarding agricultural practices and management of natural resources, which allowed local populations to respond to strategic needs of food security and cultural integration by optimizing production in mountain environments characterized by different climatic conditions.