CULTURAL STRATEGIES FOR THE MITIGATIONOF DROUGHTS IN THE DRY ANDES

AlainGIODAgioda@msem.univ-montp2.fr

Pierre MORLONmorlon@enesad.inra.fr

Introduction

The Southern Central Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Northern Chile and Argentina) isa large arid or semi-arid biogeographic region in a mountainous environment,sometimes up to 6000 mols.

Today, the descendants of the Inca in the highlands of Peru, Bolivia,northern Chile and northern Argentina are some of the poorest people in theworld. Yet in spite of what appears to be a harsh subsistence existence, theseindigenous people have developed flexible agricultural systems over manycenturies, to guarantee a livelihood when faced with major droughts or otherclimatic uncertainties. The evidence for their success at dealing with droughtscomes from historical accounts since the 1530's, subsequent to the Spanishconquest, as well as a range of evidence before the period of writing. Moreimportantly perhaps, the people are still there carrying out these successfulstrategies on the landscape and managing to obtain the necessary resources tosustain them: food, fodder and fuel.

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I. Biodiversity and climate driving societal development?

The Andes is one of the most important areas of the world forbiodiversity and endemism. In particular, the highlands of Peru andnorthwestern Bolivia are probably the centers of domestication forpotatoes and tomatoes, as well as many other crops, particularly tubers(Cardenas, 1989; Gioda & Humala-Tasso, 2000). From sea-level to morethan 4000 m altitude, agriculture and shepherding are practiced across adiverse range of climatic gradients and environments, which have playedan important role in the development of societies during more than 5000years in the Central Andes (Murra, 1975; Usselmann, 1993; Morlon,1996).

However, the Central Andes from Peru to northern Chile and Argentinaare generally dry, often composed of puna and lacking in trees (GonzalezLoyarte, 1999). The shores of Lake Titicaca are more humid, allowing majoragriculture at high altitudes, but still subject to frost and drought risks(Morlon & Vacher, 1991). In the Yungas zone, towards the eastern slopes ofthe Andes, the higher rainfall and temperatures support humid and cloudforests.

Not only are the highlands of the Central Andes exposed annuallyto a marked dry season, generally from May-August, but they are underthe influence of one of the most important global phenomena, often calledEl Nifio events, but more correctly ENSO/LNSO (Landsberg, 1976). Thisphenomenon of oceanic origin causes major floods on the dry coasts fromthe Galapagos to Chile and droughts in the Central Andes at irregularintervals. Its intensity and frequency is highly variable through time(Fontugne et al., 1999; Ortlieb, 2000). After a period of quiescenceduring the 'early-mid Holocene climatic optimum' (a time characterizedby aridity in the Central Andes at circa 8000-5000 years ago) the onset ofEl Nifio events may have been a driving force for major culturaldevelopments.

Chronologically, to simplify we shall distinguish three periods:before and after the Spanish conquest (1530's), and from Independence inthe 1820's to the present day. Obviously, these are artificial divisions, assome indigenous practices have remained intact, while others haveintegrated well with European introductions, when these seemed useful,such as ploughing with oxen or adopting crops such as barley and broadbeans.

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11. Archaeology, climatic uncertainties and traditional societies

161

Before the 1530's, there are three obstacles to understanding climatic history.

i) The first is well known and not specific to South America. History is onlywritten by the conquerors, but in the case of the Inca who did not possessa written language (and to whom this principal equally applies),documentation of events prior to the 1530's were filtered by the Spanishand mestizo (half-blooded) chroniclers, as well as by official writerssubsequently (Cabildo de La Paz, 1548-62; Gasca, 1551-53; Cieza deLeon, 1553; Acosta, 1590-91; Guarcilaso de la Vega Inca, 1609; GuamanPoma de Alaya, 1613-20; Jirnenez de la Espada, [end of XVIth century];etc.). The Spanish collected eye-witness accounts and recorded oraltraditions, but these would have been transcribed in ways the transcribersunderstood or recognized. In particular, this information would be biasedby their objectives, as their sources

Offunding would have frequentlycarried ideologicalor religious constraints.

if) Without a written language in pre-Colombian South America, one isreliant on the archaeological record, which is invariably disjunctive inspace and time. Archaeological time is not like historical time. It mayshed light on major developments such as metallurgy or ceramicchanges, but it is not useful for understanding discrete events, such asthe battle of Cajamarca and the capture of Atahualpa in 1533, a singularevent with major consequences for the subsequent history of SouthAmerica. To what extent archaeology can be used efficiently andindependently to reveal climate history on droughts lasting from severalmonths to several years and their impact on societies is ambiguous.Understanding the frequency and impact of El Nifio events occurringroughly every 4-8 years on the South American coast or in the Andes, asrecorded using historical accounts (Ortlieb, 2000) or current events(Francou & Pizarro, 1985), becomes problematical in the period prior tothe Spanish conquest.

iii) Another problem is distinguishing between a drought and desertification.Droughts, in general, tend to be brief, lasting from several months to afew years, whereas desertification is a much longer process (Comet,2002).

Native populations developed three strategies to mitigate the effects ofdrought:

162 ARCHIVO Y BIBlIOTECA NACIONALES DE BOLIVIA

i) Exploitation of resources from different and complementary ecosystems,according to altitude, with an exchange network betweengroups(Morlon, 199Ia);

ii) Conservation, stocking, and distribution of goods between differentregions, as shown by the Inca's granaries, management; including thequipu system for recording items and their sophisticated road systems.

iii) Construction of irrigation networks (acequias) and terraces (andenes)(Morlon, 1996).

Other major advances include the domestication of llamas, alpacas,and tubercles crops with the edible parts sheltered from frost, as well aspreservation by Iyophilization ofpotatoes and minor tubers (chuiio) (Antunezde Mayolo, 1981). In the mountainous Andean environments, societies werewell protected by traditional and innovative methods that developed throughtime as revealed by agroclimatology (Morion, 1991b; Gilot, 1996; Orlove etal., 2000), while the exchange and spread of technologies allowed survival.These methods to ensure food security are common to many tropicalmountainous regions, free from lowland tropical diseases, where complexsocieties developed, such as from Nepal to Ethiopia. This accumulatedpractical traditional knowledge is at the center of a new project developed byFAO, Globally-important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS),which is included within Agenda 21 of the United Nations.

In the Central Andes (and especially at high altitudes) the peasant orcampesino societies have always been affected by two fundamental climaticproblems: risks and limitations.

A. Risks (droughts,jrosts,floods and hailstones)

For survival, these societies have developed two strategies (Fig I):

i) Risk reduction by infrastructural development, particularly irrigation andterracing, but also microclimate modification using trees and walls(Morlon, 1996);

ii) Risk dispersal by the simultaneous use of a wide range of ecologicalenvironments.

B. Limitations

The climate is characterized by the alternation between a short rainy seasonand a long dry season (Fig. 2). The end of the rainy season in April or May,

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is followed by using up the remaining soil moisture (Fig. 3), which isaggravated by nightly frosts, preventing plant growth and possibly causingplant mortality. Therefore, all the crops must reach maturity at the end of thewet season, which can only be achieved by early planting and sufficient care(Fig. 4) (Bourliaud et al., 1988; Morlon, 1996). The most obvious solution isto start working in the dry season, by irrigating the soil, so it becomes lesshard. This is the principal role of irrigation, since rainfall is normallysufficient for guaranteeing crop watering. However, just at the time when rainwould be most useful for ploughing and sowing, the water for irrigation isleast abundant and most in demand. Hence, other solutions should be sought,such as crop rotation and a combination of different methods for variousperiods (cf. Fig. 1).

For an historian, one should abandon the idea of a precise chronologyor the myths behind the origin of the Inca state (Bouysse-Cassagne, 1988), letalone finding short lived droughts in the period before written documentationin the Andes. It is only possible to work on large-scale arid events, which maybe linked to societal changes (Margueron, 2004), though interpretationsshould not automatically follow the climatic determinist route (Moore, 1998).

The direct link between climate change and human activities proposedby the North-American historian, E. Huntington (and widely popularizedbetween 1900 and 1925) remains strong in the Anglo-Saxon world (Bindfordet al., 1997; Haberle & Chepstow-Lusty, 2000; Weiss & Bradley, 2001).However, the French school of history is more likely to consider socio­economic causes for explaining the rise and fall of societies (Le Roy Ladurie,1983; Leveau, 2003; Gioda & Baker, 2004).

It may be advisable to use a more probabilistic approach than thedeterminist ones, for example, in understanding the population increases athigher altitude between AD 1000-1200 (Fig. 5). Indeed, these deterministicrepresentations of reality could handicap archaeologists in attempting tounderstand landscape history via new data from the environmental sciences,such as dendrochronology, glaciology, lichenometry, and palynology.

Advances in history could come from a multidisciplinary approach,such as used by Chepstow-Lusty et al. (2005) in interpretating lacustrinesediments from the Cuzco region. The high organic content of the sedimentsfrom the infilled lake of Marcacocha allowed an internally consistent seriesof radiocarbon dates to be obtained, producing a reliable chronology for pastenvironmental changes. Agriculture has probably been practiced on a wide

164 ARCHIVO Y BIBLlOTECA NACIONALES DE BOLIVIA

scale since 2200 BC, which corresponds with the base of the sequence, andincludes abundant Chenopodiaceae polIen, some of which is probablyderived from the crop, Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa). At the same time, theforests had probably largely been removed or not recovered from the arid'early-mid Holocene climatic optimum' c. 8000-5000 years ago. Erosion ofsoils is evident, associated with the disturbance indicator, Ambrosiaarborescens. This shrub is also used in the stabilization of rudimentaryterraces, though this is practiced on a smaller scale today.

A significant decline of agriculture occurred at the beginning of the firstmillennium AD, associated with a long interval ofcooling. The arboreal pollenincrease of Alnus acuminata (aliso), the only species of South America alder,is broadly contemporaneous with a phase of warming beginning from AD1100, which may be equivalent to the Medieval Warm Period in Europe. Evenif this alder growth is spontaneous, other independent sources indicate that thisspecies was important in indigenous agroforestry subsequently (Chepstow­Lusty & Winfield, 2000). The use of terraces constructed after 1100 AD alsoassisted in reducing erosion, as well as being highly efficient, especiaIly formaize production. Although, quinoa appears to have become a less importantcrop, these traditional agricultural practices, associated with indigenous plantsand terrace systems, are still present in the poorest regions of the Andes.

Some of the environmental events in the Marcacocha lake record canbe easily correlated with the Quelccaya ice core (Thompson et al., 1986),such as the appearance of the tree Alnus acuminata at 1100 AD (Chepstow­Lusty et al., 2003).

Ill. Spaniards, christ and the creation of a new world

The conquest in 1533-34 was achieved by less than 200 Spaniards whorallied a part of the native forces against the Inca. In 1538, in Chile, Almagro,a conquistador coming from Cuzco carried out the conquest single-handedlysimilarly supported by native forces. The smaIl number of conquistadors,followed by colonists, who would settle during the next three centuries,would cause the rise of an elite minority. It may even have contributed to themaintenance of traditional societies, even if altered to some extent. TheSpanish did not use a 'scorched earth' policy to control the population, butother persuasive and coercive methods (Wachtel, 1990). Native customs weresupported, such as using coca (which was only accessible to the elite in Incatimes) and they adopted the Inca model of mita or work duties performed bylocal communities.

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After a troubled period, called the civil war (between the conquistadors,and then against the crown), almost complete control by Spain was achievedin 1548. The Royal representative, the Viceroy of the West Indies, Pedro de laGasca (1551-1553) reigned over the territory and all its subjects. This situationwould continue until 1809-1810, when the War of Independence began.Colonization was characterized by control of the numerous resources,particularly those with a high economic value such as the mines supplyinggold, silver and mercury (vital for their smelting). Agriculture was also animportant resource to be managed, especially if linked to the exploitation ofmineral resources. Consequently, in the historical documents produced,droughts attracted the attention of landowners, who attempted to plantEuropean crops with more or less success, in new climatic zones.

The Andes became dominated by Spaniards from north to south, andnumerous cities rapidly developed: Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Quito, Cuenca,Cuzco, La Plata (currently Sucre), Cochabamba, Tarija, etc. On the Altiplano,mining cities prospered in relation to various booms: Cerro de Paseo, Potosi,Oruro and their supporting cities such as La Paz.

This colonization was helped largely by the Church, mainly by fiveorders (four orders of monks, and Jesuits missionaries from at least 1568),which were under the authority of the king according to a specificadministrative regime, el patronato (Engafia, 1954; O'Neill & Dominguez,200 I). The first official historian of the Crown was probably the Jesuit,Jose de Acosta (1539-1600) who described the new territories of Peru andtheir climate. He appreciated the highlands: they were healthy becausethere were dry, cold and without any tropical diseases. The Altiplanolooked like the Castilian plateau (meseta), which was always the Spaniards'reference point.

The colonial administration, which was linked with the Spanisharchives from the times of Philip 11, began compiling documents onpopulation, settlements, landscapes and economic resources (Metcalfe et al.,2002). As a consequence, a modem climatic and environmental history canbe written for Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, etc. (Abraham de Vazquez & Prieto,]99]; Morlon, 1992; Gioda & Prieto, ]999a; Prieto et al., 2000; CarcelenReluz, 200]). This history is specific to the Spanish world, which ischaracterized by a strong religious background (Garza & Barriendos, ]998;Garza, 2002). The Spanish empire had a powerful arm with the clergy, whopursued two avenues:

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i) To eradicate idolatry; and

ii) To substitute shamans in ritual practices (Rosling, 1996) by persuadingthe local population to pray to God and associated Christian imagery forrainfall and other needs. It was a rather successful strategy. Numerousimages of saints and virgins were introduced during subsequent droughtsaccording to 'Arzans' historical chronicle (1705-1736), such as: StAndrew, St Severino, St Anne, St Domingo, St Augustine, and Our Ladyof Conception. The Chipaya-Uru (Altiplano native population locatedclose to Oruro) still call St Andrew, the master of thunder (Wachtel, 1990),and St Severino, the rainfall saint, the latter being carried in processionbefore the rainy season in Tarata, in the Quechua valley of Cochabamba,Bolivia (Brother Maurizio Valcanover, pers. comm.).

Hence, Jesuits played an important role in evangelization by havingmestizo Fathers with an intimate knowledge of Amerindian languages andcultures. This was particularly notable during their first missions on theAltiplano, and more specifically by using the Aymara language. The Lupacanative population was sporadically evangelized from 1574 in the residenciaofJuli on the shores of Lake Titicaca (Engaiia, 1954). The first mestizo Jesuit,Gonzalo Ruiz (O'Neill & Dominguez, 200 I), was very active between 1568and 1618 with the local people of Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa, Huamanga(nowadays called Ayacucho) and Potosi. He was considered 'as a saint' by thedirector of the Peruvian Jesuits, Jose de Acosta. Missionaries also provide uswith detailed historical accounts, including climatic events, especially in themarginal areas of the Spanish Empire (e.g. Jesuits settlements in Bolivia andParaguay).

The Church's interest in modern meteorology, and thereforeclimatology, originates from the lasting success of Matteo Ricci in Chinabetween 1582 and 1610. In the XVI lh century, science took a leap forward,without doubt helped by the increased funding available (x 10), following theexploitation of gold and silver from Mexico and Peru. The Jesuits,originating from the University of the Sorbonne in Paris, through theirfounders St Ignacio and St Francois Xavier, wanted to energize the image ofthe Church in its fight against Protestantism by moving away from 'thedarkness of the Middle Ages'. As a result, they sought a different route,which Wl!-S the 'spiritual conquest' of the world using an elitist strategy, withtheir own preaching, simple dress and lack ofa conventional life, quite unlikeother monks. In Latin America, the Jesuit settlements were the seat of the firstscientific advances, e.g., the Argentinian astronomer, Father Buenaventura

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Suarez, was highly active between 1706 and 1750, especially in theParaguayan mission ofSt Cosme and St Damien. It is important to emphasizethe correspondence of Father Suarez with the scientific community of Europeand China, as well as with other Jesuits working at the Imperial MandarinCourt, including the German, Ignaz Kiigler (O'Neill & Dominguez, 2001).Therefore, there existed at a global scale, a network of researchers inastronomy and meteorology of a high standard from the beginning of theeighteenth century (Demaree in Gioda et al., 2004). Yet, the initial stage inthis development had been the rudimentary observatory at Rome, whichbegan in 1572 (Udias, 2003). In South America, other great scientists andcartographers were the Fathers: Jean-Xavier Nyel with his map of the Straitsof Magellan in 1713; Pedro Lozano with his mapping of the Chaco and astudy of the Lima earthquake in 1746; Jose Cudiel with his travels inPatagonia in 1747, etc.

The Jesuits noticed quickly, perhaps as a result of their physicalproximity with indigenous people, that it was important to communicate withGod in a simplified or popular way, and hence the Heavens always attractedthem. Searching the Heavens could in part be achieved by makingastronomical and meteorological observations (Gioda & Prieto 1999 b ;Udias, 2003).

The prolonged War of Independence which lasted between 1809 and1825 throughout Spanish South America was responsible for the physicaldestruction of the colonial elite. However, the peasants/native peopleremained poor, while the new dictators (caudillos) emerged, of whom thefirst was Bolivar, supposedly freeing them from the Spanish yoke. Criticismof the new hierarchy that emerged was in the minority. Only the scientist JoseMaria Bozo (known under the nickname as the Diogenous Bolivian) openlyrefused to pay homage to Bolivar in 1825 at the end of the War ofIndependence and questioned his reasoning (Gioda & Forenza, 2000). Fromthe writings of Bolivar himself, one can read: 'If nature is opposed to whatwe have decided, we will fight against it and make it obey us', as cited byUsselmann (1993). This statement was pronounced the day after the terribleCaracas earthquake in 1812, in which 10,000 people died. However, oneshould not rush to throw the first stone at Bolivar. Today, in Europe, theecologist James Lovelock, the originator of the concept of Gaia, wishes thatsocieties, should face up to global dangers, such as desertification or thegreenhouse effect, rather than just the perceived ecological problems directlyaffecting them. Unlike the social insects, we do not have a reliable record

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globally that allows us to restore a civilization that has collapsed! Always, wehave to begin our path from zero or almost to rebuild and civilize humans(Lovelock, 1998). But, the most serious concern is that this feeling of beingable to dominate nature still persists today in South America at the highestlevel. In this way, the elite thinking is a step backwards in comparison to thedeveloped world, and the linked perceptions of progress and ecology aredelayed (Mansilia, 1992).

Unlike the bourgeoisie, the Church quickly responded to theIndependence and became an essential link in Latin-American history. TheJesuits were expelled from Spanish South America in 1767 by Charles Ill, andsome years before from Brazil by the king of Portugal; subsequently the orderwas suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. According to a 1749 census,the Jesuits had about 23,000 priests, of whom 15,000 provided education in anetwork of 800 centers for 200,000 pupils across the world (O'NeilI &Dominguez, 200 I). School was not obligatory at this time, nor provided by thestate. They were re-established as an order in 1814. In Latin America, sincethe 1830's (Argentina was the first), the Jesuits returned to focus on teachingand science until 40 years ago (Father Morales s.j., pers. comm.).and aselsewhere in the world (Udias, 2003), they rebuilt their meteorologicalnetwork. A seismological section was added, which is extremely important inthe tectonically active Andes. Established observatories in Latin Americamainly consist of: La Paz (1891-present), and Sucre (1914-1965) in Bolivia,Quito (1864-76) in Ecuador, Bogota in Colombia [San Bartolome (1922-41)and the Institute of Geophysics (1941-present)], Santa Fe (1904-1967) andSan MigueI close to Buenos Aires (1934-1977) in Argentina, Puebla (1877­1930) and Saltillo (1884-1932) in Mexico, and lastly at Belen (1857-1964) inCuba, which became famous for its hurricane warning and was completed byCienfuegos observatory data (1910-1946).

For their continuity, the observations of the Jesuit missionaries oftenspan 30 or 40 years in Latin America. By comparison, exploring scientistswere there generally for short periods, and although some achieved success,such as La Condamine and Humboldt, others more often found failure(Pelayo, 200 I).

In many countries, these observatories provide the temporal link withthe national meteorological services which were normally poorly financedand often delayed in their establishment. For example, in Bolivia, theNational Meteorological Service was founded in 1912, but did not becomeeffective until 1942.

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IV.The concept of catastrophes and the modern world

The new countries that emerged from the War of Independence remain poorby contrast to their rich potential resources. They are, on a global scale,sparsely populated, yet natural catastrophes have a strong impact. Thisparadox comes from poverty providing little security against earthquakes,hurricanes or other natural hazards. In a world becoming increasinglytechnologically advanced, the flexibility of large scale populationmovements by contrast appears to be a more complex and dramatic process(Weiss & Bradley, 200 I), especially for the poor. The enforced concentrationof native populations in encomiendas or reducciones from the 1570's wasespecially dangerous.

Droughts are not brutal and instantaneous as are earthquakes, and as aresult they allow the development of planned strategies. Catastrophesoriginate from the combination of unpredictable natural or anthropogenicevents, which taken individually, appear incapable of triggering catastrophes.

The word catastrophe is frequently used when it has a major impact onhumans, particularly in terms of rapid loss of lives. By contrast, droughts arenot generally considered as catastrophes. With the development of theSpanish colonial state, droughts were particularly feared in the mining towns,where the extraction and concentration of minerals, such as silver, requiredan abundance of hydraulic energy, after the development in Peru of a newtechnology in 1572 (Gioda & Serrano, 2002). Nevertheless, during droughts,the Spaniards could always resort to either animal or human force forworking most of their machinery.

We put forward the hypothesis that the notion of catastrophe linked todroughts comes directly from a decree of Charles Ill: 'Relacionesseximestrales de aguas, cosechas y demds particulares', a Royal decreedated 1784. Starting from this time, the administration, directed by importantRoyal advisers, such as Cafiete y Dominguez (1787) in Potosi and FranciscoViedrna in Cochabamba, took control of agriculture and claimed as in amodem state to have a complete survey of its lands. Every six months, theauthorities in charge of each region of the Empire had to return their reports(Prieto & Herrera, 2003). This system remained until the War ofIndependence. One could even say that they contributed unintentionally tothe multiplication ofcatastrophes in the archival sources. There appears to bea paradox in that the series ofdroughts reconstructed between 1777 and 1804,beginning from the instigation of these 'Relaciones', is not compatible with

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the series of droughts before or afterwards. An uneven distribution of dryepisodes occurs, particularly during the period 1780-180I, which includes IIunusually dry years (Gioda & L'Hote, 2002).

These Royal demands allow us to follow the great catastrophe:

i) The drought of 1803-05 or the catastrophe announcing the end of Spanishcolonization was documented by the Argentinian historian, EnriqueTandeter (1991). It affected all the area of Bolivia, from the Altiplano ofLa Paz to Potosi, and from the Andean valleys of Cochabarnba to Tarijaand up to Chaco (Gioda & Prieto, I999a).

Two other great droughts also occurred during disastrous politicalevents:

ii) The drought of 1878-79 or the catastrophic Pacific War between Boliviaand Peru. Linked to an El Nifio phenomenon of a rare scale affecting thecontinent (Ortlieb, 2000), it disrupted the normal transportation andprovisioning of Bolivian troops coming from the Altiplano. Moreover,people died of starvation in the towns, such as Cochabamba and shopswere looted in Sucre, the capital.

iii) The drought of 1982-83 or the catastrophic control of the drug trade. Amajor El Nifio event comparable by its amplitude to the preceding oneoccurred in Bolivia, completely isolated for many months byinternational reprisal measures against the government of General GarciaMesa (1980-82). Aid did not arrive in time to prevent the abandonmentof a large part of the Aymara population from their rural life on theAltiplano, resulting in 25,000 homeless, the decimation of camelidpopulations and the boom of El Alto, the satellite city of La Paz.

Conclusions

It is very difficult to say when the notion of catastrophic droughts appearedin the history of the Andes, even if we put forward a hypothesis dating thisconcept from the end of the xvm- century. Droughts have the greatdistinction ofbeing non-instantaneous catastrophes, by contrast slow, rangingfrom a month to a year or longer. As a consequence, if they are well managed,these droughts do not necessarily become catastrophic. For example, thenormal and successful strategy is the utilization of a range of crops adaptedto the daily freeze-thaw cycle and the adoption of plants with low waterrequirements during long dry periods in this part of the Andes. If we have

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considered mostly small scale farmers (peasants or campesinos) in our paper,it is because 70% of the water used today is destined for agricultural needs.The preeminence of the important role played by water is a constant in thehistory of all societies.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from the German HistoricalInstitute (GHI). These results were presented by A. Gioda at the 'Conferenceon Natural Disasters and Cultural Strategies Responses to Catastrophe inGlobal Perspective', held in Washington (USA), February 19-22, 2004.Christof Mauch (GHI), and Christian Pfister (University of Bern) were theconveners. A summary of the conference by Ch. Mauch was published in theBulletin ofGHI, Washington, D. C, Fall 2004, 35, 125-132.

Alex Chepstow-Lusty (UMR CNRS Paleoenvironnements,University of Montpellier 2), and Mike Baker (ARCHISS) helped with thetranslation.

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ANUARIO DE ESTUDlOS BOLlVIANOS, ARCHI V(STICOS y BIBLlOGRAFICOS 181

FIGURA N° I

CAMPESINO STRATEGIES FOR DEALINGWITH CLIMATIC PROBLEMS

LimitationsA short time for

ploughing and sowing

Risksdroughts - floodsfrosts - hailstones

Order of croprotation,

.. Ploughingmethods and dates

Complementary useof .. ecological

floors

Modification of

natural environment

(infrastructure)

• ! ~ I -, 1Reducing the Spacing out Dispers ing Reducing

work load the work the risks the r isk s

FIGURA N° 2

EXAMPLE OF RAINFALL DISTRIBUTIONON THE NORTHERN ALTIPLANO

mm150

(Azangaro, Peru, average of 15 years)

J

. . ~ ." .

................

ON DJ F MA M JsA

...·····;~·:~·~·~;~i····· ......... evapotranspiration" ....

............ (PET) .

.'

Jo

50

lO{}-+----,7------''--'''-'-=='O''------'.o.;:--f-----O>...-----------

182 ARCHIVO Y BIBLIOTECA NA CIONALES DE BOLIVIA

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FIGURA N° 3

POTENTIAL WATER BALANCE (RAINFALL MINUS POTENTIALEVAPOTRANSPIRATION) AVERAGE IN THE LAKE TITICACA BASIN

(AZ.<\NGARO)

50mm

o

-50

-100

Drought

Storage in the soil

of excess rainfall from

the rainy seaso n50mm

- 50

- lOO

•

•JASONDJ FMAMJJ

FIGURA NU 4

LIMITATIONS AND CLIMATIC THREATS ON THE ALTIPLANO

d f m

Period atwhich cropsmust have

been planted

.......

Periodwhen crops

must benpe

~ / .

~ jI'

!

•

ANUARIO DE ESTUDIOS BOLlVIANOS, ARCHIViSTlCOS y BIBLlOGRAFlCOS

FIGURAN°5

OBSERVATIONS: HABITED PLACES AT HIGHER ALTITUDE(BY 200-300 M) BETWEEN AD 1000-1200

Different Interpretations

/ ! <,

183

Politics(Guaman Poma):

Periodof wars

ClimateIncreasedWarming

Socio­economic or

cultural

Fortified HillSettlements

(« pukaras »)

Altitudinal rise in Changing importancezones of food <===:J of the different

production and production zoneshabitation

Gioda Alain, Morlan P.

Cultural strategies for the mitigation of droughts in the dry

Andes.

In : Anuario 2005. Sucre : ABNB, 2005, p. 159-183. (Anuario

de Estudios Bolivianos, Archivisticos y Bibliograficos).