The chinampa were companion-planted (the planting of different crops in proximity for pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity) with corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers, and these incredible gardens

What crops did the Aztecs grow?

Once the floating island was secure and useable, the Aztecs used it to plant their principal crop: corn. They also grew various vegetables (such as avocados, beans, chili peppers, squash, and tomatoes), and sometimes—even flowers. Unfortunately, the Aztecs had no animals or machines to help them work the land.

Who grew food on chinampas?

To grow all this food, the Aztecs used two main farming methods: the chinampas and terracing. Chinampas were essentially man-made islands, raised bed gardens on the surface of Lake Texcoco’s shallow waters.

What were Aztec chinampas used for?

Chinampas. Chinampas were artificially raised and flooded fields used for cultivation, and they covered large areas of the Chalco-Xochimilco basin and greatly increased the agricultural capacity of the land.

What types of crops were grown on Aztec chinampas and what type of care was needed to tend to them?

Aztec chinampas were reliable sources of food, likely supplying beans, squash, amaranth, chili peppers, maize, tomatoes, and flowers, among other crops.

How did the Aztecs build the chinampas?

Chinampas were invented by the Aztec civilization. Sometimes referred to as “floating gardens,” chinampas are artificial islands that were created by interweaving reeds with stakes beneath the lake’s surface, creating underwater fences.

What were Chinampas quizlet?

Chinampas were floating gardens. First mats were woven to float, the fences were built around the mats. The mats were covered in mud and planted with crops. These gardens allowed Aztecs to expand the island and feed their growing population.

What kept the soil of the chinampas from oozing?

What anchored each chinampas plot to the solid ground beneath the water level? The island was built on reed frames, which keeps the soil oozing into the canals. The roots of the plants on the chinampas also help hold the soil together.

What language is Nahuatl?

Nahuatl language, Spanish náhuatl, Nahuatl also spelled Nawatl, also called Aztec, American Indian language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in central and western Mexico. Nahuatl, the most important of the Uto-Aztecan languages, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations of Mexico.

What are floating gardens called?

chinampa, also called floating garden, small, stationary, artificial island built on a freshwater lake for agricultural purposes.

Why was Chinampas important?

The Aztecs built the Chinampas for agricultural production, piling up mud from the bottom of the lake, rich in organic matter and nutrients and protecting it with a fence of wooden stakes.

What crops did the Incas grow?

They developed resilient breeds of crops such as potatoes, quinoa and corn. They built cisterns and irrigation canals that snaked and angled down and around the mountains. And they cut terraces into the hillsides, progressively steeper, from the valleys up the slopes.

What are the benefits of Chinampas?

What are the benefits of Chinampas?

• Increased nutrient uptake.
• Less susceptibility to drought, frosts, and other weather calamities.
• Ability to grow more food (vegetables, fish and water foul).
• Converting “unusable” low-ground into a productive food system.
• Dramatically reducing the need to water a garden. (

What did the Aztecs build to get from the mainland to Tenochtitlan?

Early on in the history of the city the Aztecs built causeways and canals for transportation to and from the city. A causeway is a raised road that allowed the people to easily travel over the swampy and wet areas. There were three major causeways that led from the island city to the mainland.

How did chinampas enhance the environment?

Along with production, restored chinampas would provide a series of ecosystem services to Mexico City. This includes water filtration, regulation of water levels, microclimate regulation, increased biodiversity, and carbon capture and storage.

Why were the Aztecs famous for their agriculture?

The Aztecs are known for their agricultural ingenuity of ‘chinampas’ or floating gardens. Tenochtitlan also had causways, dikes, and canals that were also built by the Aztecs. Aztec farming has become most famous because of the brilliant chinampas system that Aztec farmers used.