Various Indigenous Agricultural Techniques that can lead to Prosperity: Robby Buck

 Various Indigenous Agricultural Techniques that can lead to Prosperity

Moray farming was more than just agriculture; it involved researching how plants would behave in different climate and temperature zones. The Moray terraces were agricultural research sites created by the Incas, allowing for a wide diversity of plants to be grown, including 3,000 different types of potatoes and 150 different types of corn (known as moray in Pre-Columbian terms). This raises the question: Were there priest-scientists similar to Gregor Mendel who understood the principles of hereditary features long before Mendel did? Or was this knowledge destroyed by the conquistadors, or perhaps they simply did not possess that depth of understanding?

Additionally, other interesting farming techniques were developed by ancient indigenous peoples before European colonists seized their lands. For example, the Food Forests of North America and the fire-stick farming practiced by Aboriginal people in Australia. The Aboriginal Australians would light small fires in dried shrublands to promote the regrowth of bush plants and replenish nutrients since Australia is a landscape that naturally evolves through fire. These small fires helped prevent megafires by creating manageable fire breaks in the ecosystem. When colonists first arrived in Australia, they described the soil as rich, akin to chocolate, and they noted that the land resembled a park with abundant wildlife. However, this balance was quickly disrupted when Aboriginal peoples were pushed from their lands and banned from their traditional fire practices. As a result, populations of insects that preyed on eucalyptus trees soared, leading to an accumulation of dead, sappy eucalyptus wood on the forest floors and causing larger, hotter bushfires. This imbalance significantly affected Australia's ecosystems.

In North America, Native Americans cultivated vast areas of land filled with various edible, fruit-bearing trees and plants. One remnant of these pre-Columbian food forests is the forest in Turkey Run, which hosts an incredible variety of plants, including pawpaws, wild garlic, walnuts, and persimmons. These forests were managed through small burns and the removal of trees that choked the land, promoting greater abundance.

A more modern example of a food forest is the one created by John Hershey in Pennsylvania, featuring different fruit trees grafted onto one another to enhance plant diversity. Unfortunately, much of this forest in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, has been cleared for suburban development. Nonetheless, the remaining pockets of the forest are highly productive and park-like, yielding more than average farms.