Abstract
In this paper, the retaining walls in the agricultural terraces built by the Incas are analyzed from a mechanical point of view. In order to do so, ten different walls from the Lower Agricultural Sector of Machu Picchu, Peru, were selected using images from Google Street View and Google Earth Pro. Then, these walls were digitalized and their mechanical stability was evaluated. Firstly, it was found that these retaining walls are characterized by two distinctive features: disorder and a block size distribution with a large size span, i.e., the particle size varies from blocks that can be carried by one person to large blocks weighing several tons. Secondly, it was found that, thanks to the large span of the block size distribution, the factor of safety of the Inca retaining walls is remarkably close to those that are recommended in modern geotechnical design standards. This suggests that these structures were not only functional but also highly optimized, probably as a result of a careful trial and error procedure.
Highlights
The Inca Empire was the largest pre-Columbian civilization of the American continent, with a surface close to one million square kilometres and a population close to twelve million people during the sixteenth century
The purpose of this work was to analyze the mechanical stability of the retaining walls used in the agricultural terraces built by the Incas
2 Location of the analyzed walls In order to carry out this investigation, ten retaining walls were selected from the Lower Agricultural Sector of Machu Picchu, Perú
Summary
The Inca Empire was the largest pre-Columbian civilization of the American continent, with a surface close to one million square kilometres and a population close to twelve million people during the sixteenth century Their development relied on a remarkable infrastructure network of bridges, roads, agricultural terraces, buildings, and water conduction systems. Amongst the different types of structures built by the Incas, one of the most important was the system of agricultural terraces These terraces were an essential part of the Inca food supply system [1], allowing the development of a variety of crops throughout the Andes, especially maize, potatoes, and quinoa. The purpose of this work was to analyze the mechanical stability of the retaining walls used in the agricultural terraces built by the Incas. The procedures followed for analyzing the mechanical stability of these systems is presented in Sec. 4, and the paper ends in Sec. 5 with a brief conclusion
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