Vertical economy in Tamboo

Essay by dirrjUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, April 2005

download word file, 1 pages 3.5

Downloaded 25 times

The concept of the vertical economy was discussed in class and in the film. It discusses how it applies to the Incas. Since self-sufficiency was the ideal of the society, family units claimed parcels of land in different ecological niches in the rugged terrain. In this way, they achieved what anthropologists have called "vertical complementarily," that is, the ability to produce a wide variety of crops--such as maize, potatoes, and quinoa (a protein-rich grain)--at different altitudes for household consumption. It relates to Tambo in the same way, it basically allows food to be grown at different levels of the land. Some are grown and dramatically different levels, such as Potatoes at 4,000 meters, maize at 2,500 meters, and Coca at 800 meters. Different members of a same community were divided among different eco-systems, and that's way their human settlements were bound into a single system. That is how they had a large population.

Tamboo is basically a diary about Julia's experiences living with (and as) the Quechua for 1 year in a small village called Tambo. The book is filled with rich descriptions of the land, the people, their work and habits, the festivities, the surroundings and the life of these people, and in particular one extended family with who Julia and her husband, lived, worked and played with. Due to the closeness of the relationship between Julia and her hosts, the book describes the characters in a way that makes you become fond of them. Almost as if you know them yourself. The personal lives, ways, mannerisms and problems. By the time the book comes to an end you have had a rich insight into the very closed and ritual world of rural Quechua society and have shared the difficulties that Julia and her husband experienced. The most...