Corn and Irrigation
"These ancient Peruvians lived in simple adobe houses,
cultivated potatoes and beans, fished in the nearby sea,
and grew and wove cotton for their clothing. The catalyst
for the development of the more advanced civilizations
that followed was the introduction of a staple annual crop-
maize (corn), and the development of irrigation, both dating
from around the thirtieth century B.C. The stabilization of
the food supply and ensuing surplus formed the foundation
for the development of the great civilizations that rose and
fell across the Andes Mountains for more than a thousand years
prior to the arrival of the Europeans."
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