Discovery at Tambo Viejo
Several potatoes belonging to a preserved food known as 'chuño' have been uncovered at the former Inca provincial center of Tambo Viejo in the Acarí Valley. This find reveals that the Incas transported chuño hundreds of kilometers from the Andes, relying on freeze-drying technology for long-term storage.
According to a study published in the Journal of Field Archaeology, ordinary potatoes are 80% water. To produce chuño, the Incas exposed potatoes to overnight freezing at altitudes above 3,600 meters, enabling the food to last for decades. Two chuño samples were discovered at the bottom of a clay pot buried in the earthen floor of a storage room. Alongside them, fragments of Inca pottery and a wool-spinning tool were found. The organic remains were preserved due to the arid climate of the Acarí Valley.
The Significance of Chuño
Lidio Valdez of the University of Calgary notes: 'the two chuño samples were lying at the very bottom of a clay pot dug into the earthen floor of a small storage room.'
Thanks to its long shelf life, this product could be easily transported across the Inca Empire. The Incas also applied a similar preservation method to meat, creating a product known as 'charqui'. Freeze-dried potatoes lasted longer than fresh ones, offering new insights into the technologies and trade networks of this ancient civilization.
This discovery highlights not only the innovative food preservation techniques used by the Incas but also the crucial role of chuño in their economy and diet. Long-term food storage helped ensure a stable food supply, which was vital for sustaining a vast empire. Research into such archaeological finds can significantly reshape our understanding of the economy and daily life in ancient cultures.