Recent papers written by Evergreen students in Peru
Kristin Pew
Guano in Peru: History and
future
As long as humans have been farming they have been
looking for ways to improve the yield of their crops. Domestication,
irrigation and fertilization are among the first and most effective
ways people have historically increased their yields. In Peru people
have been using guano (droppings from certain seabirds) to fertilize
their fields since before the Incas.
Guano is an excellent fertilizer, as seabirds
primarily eat fish, so their feecies have extremely high nitrate
contents. In Peru most of the guano comes from the rocky islands just
off the southern coast in the Pacific Ocean. The leading guano
producing islands have historically been: Chinchas, Ballestras, Lobos,
Macabi, and Guanape. These islands produce the best guano in the world
due to their dry climate with virtually no rainfall.
During the 19th century the worlds demand for guano
soared, becoming the favoured fertilizer in Europe and the United
States. The increase in demand was due to the high effectiveness of
guano in releasing nitrates into the soil, more than three more times
effective than traditional farm manure. (Romero, 2008) With the high
demand the guano industry in Peru sky rocketed, and by the 1830´s
over 60% of Peru’s national revenue was due to guano exports. (Trade
and Environment Database)
The height of the guano boom took place between the
years1800-1840, during this time Peru excavated more than 20,000,000
tons, profiting an estimated 2 billion dollars. (Trade and Environment
Database) In fact the guano industry was so profitable Peru had to
fight a war against Spain to protect their guano producing islands, in
the Chincha Islands War. Spain wanted control over the lucrative
islands, and waged war against Peru and Chile, which Spain ultimately
ended up loosing.
Most of Peru’s guano exports were going to Great
Britain, so in response to being cut off of Peru’s guano supply the
United States enacted the Island Guano Act of 1856. This law was and
effort to lower the cost and increase the availability of the
fertilizer to the farmers in the United States. This act enabled any US
citizen who discovered an unoccupied island, key or rock that contained
guano reserves to claim the land “in the name of the United States
government.” (48 USC Ch 8) the discoverer had to provide the exact
longitude and latitude of the land, and provide “sufficient proof” to
Congress “the rock, island, or key was unoccupied at the time of
discovery.” (48 USC Ch 8)
Once Congress was satisfied with the evidence, the
discoverer had rights to harvest the guano from the island. The guano
taken from these islands could only be sold to farmers residing in the
United States. They also had regulations on the price of the guano
stating that the price could not exceed “$8 per tons for the best
quality, and $4 for every ton taken while in its native place of
deposit.” (48 USC Ch 8) Islands seized under this act include: Howland,
Serranilla Keys, Baker and the Petrel Islands. Most of these islands
were later released during the 1900´s when the guano demand had
almost disappeared.
By the early 20th Century the demand for guano was
replaced by synthetic fertilizers, and Peru had almost completely
depleted their guano supply. In places where 50 years before had
deposits 150 feet deep, now barely had 12 inches of guano covering the
rock surface. (Romero 2008) Due to the dwindling supply, and wavering
demand, Peru stared to slow excavation to only 48,000 tons per year.
This sudden drop in supply and demand hit Peru’s economy very hard.
The Guano Administration Company was established in
1909 by the Peruvian government in an effort to protect the rapidly
disappearing guano reserves and guano producing birds. Guano is
primarily made of the droppings fro three types of birds: Gray Pelican,
White Breast cormorant and the White Headed Piqueras. (Trade and
Environment Database) With all the human disruption on the islands,
that previously had very little interruption, the birds were
disappearing rapidly worrying ecologists and entrepenours alike.
The Guano Administration Company instated
conservation measures such as; limiting guano harvesting to two islands
for only 6 months per year. This allows for the guano reserves to
rebuild and also allows the birds to procreate properly without human
intrusion. They have also helped fund t he building of retaining walls
on the islands to retain the guano and help build the reserves faster,
and have introduces a lizard that eats the ticks that were riddling the
seabirds. (Romero 2008) In more recent year they have also stationed
armed guards around all the islands to protect against illegal
harvesting and fishing boats illegally entering the protected waters
(the noisy engines scare away the guano producing birds). (Romero 2008)
In the past year or so there has been new life given
to the guano industry, thanks to the raising prices of synthetic
fertilizers and the growing demand for organic produce. With the
growing demand it is causing concerns with both the Peruvian harvesters
and ecologist around the world. Victor Ropòn has been
working excavating guano for over 50 years off the coast of Peru and he
claims, “There might be 10 years of supplies left, or perhaps twenty,
and then it will be completely exhausted.” (Romero 2008) Although the
seabird population has risen by about 800,000 in the past two years
to the current population of about 4 million, this number pales
in comparison to the 60 million birds that live on the coast before the
first big guano boom. (Romero 2008) In the 1800s over 1 million
seabirds would live on one island, creating about 11,000 tons of guano
per year, now the numbers can not even compare.
Ecologists believe that a major threat, and also a
big reason for the decrease in the number of seabirds is due to over
fishing and global warming. Anchoveta is a small fish, in the anchovy
family, and is the favoured food for the guano producing sea birds.
More and more countries are producing poultry and raising other stock
animals as well, thus increasing the need for fishmeal as feed. (Romero
2008) As the demand for fishmeal continues to grow, so does the
commercial fishing industry. One of the main fish used in fishmeal is
the Anchoveta, forcing the sea birds to compete with the commercial
fishers for their dinner.
Also, as the ocean water continues to warm up (especially
in the shallower coastal regions) the Anchovetas are forced to find
cooler, and deeper waters farther off the coast, and out of the
seabirds hunting range. The Humboldt current runs along Perus
coastline, and in the past was a frigid deep sea current that allowed a
plethora of unique sea life to wash up of the shores of Peru, but with
the warming of this current the biodiversity is rapidly shrinking. In
recent years this current has warmed so much, that it has driven the
once plentiful Anchovy miles off shore, and ecologists are worried that
the Anchoveta is next. Uriel de la Torre, a specialist in sea birds
predicts that unless drastic measures are taken to stop over fishing
and global warming, Anchovetas and seabirds will become extinct by
2030. (Romero 2008)
Peru’s government is considering stopping all
exports of guano to foreign countries, in order to keep up with the
domestic demand. (Romero 2008) Although this is a step in the right
direction, they will also need to curtail their over fishing problem in
order to save the seabirds and Anchoveta alike. As the reserves are
running out, people are starting to look for alternatives to guano,
although many of them are synthetic. This is a problem that needs to be
solved rapidly and involving many countries, as the demand for guano is
global. Hopefully it will not be too late for the seabirds and
Anchoveta to rebound to their previous numbers.
Works Cited
"Guano Trade: Case Studies." Trade and Environment Database. 12 Nov.
2008 <http://www.american.edu/ted/guano.htm>.
Romero, Simon. "Peru Gaurds its Guano as Demand Soars Again." New York
Times 30 May 2008.
S. Res. 1411-1419, 48th Cong., 48 Chapter 8 (1856) (enacted).
Pre-Ceramic Farming and Domestication
This paper is based on the findings of Tom D. Dillehay, Jack Rossen,
Thomas C. Andres and David E. Williams in the “Ñanchoc Valley, a
tributary of the Zaña Valley.”
The Peruvians have been expert farmers and
domesticators since pre-ceramic times. Due to harsh and drastically
varying climates, crop cultivation was a necessity for survival. With
an arid desert coastline, the cold and steep Andes Mountains running
through the center of the country, and a lush jungle in the east; Peru
really has a little bit of every type of climate imaginable. As a way
to increase population and stability of nutrition, the native Peruvians
turned to crop cultivation and domestication. Transforming their former
hunting and gathering society into societies of farmers.
Between 10,800 and 9,000 years before present (BP)
that natives lived in very small semi-nomadic communities of hunters
and gatherers. Much of Peru’s land is very difficult to pass on foot,
especially through the Andes due to their high altitude and cold
weather, so this life must have been very trying for the natives. In
addition to the hardships imposed by the terrain and climate, food
shortages were a constant concern for the hunters and gatherers of this
region.
It was previously thought that agriculture started
around 5000 years BP in Peru, with crops such as potatoes, chilli’s,
maize and beans. In the past few years however, new archaeological
finds and radiocarbon dating have found evidence of crop cultivation
dating back to 9240 years BP. “The data indicates that agriculture
played a more important and earlier role in the development of Andean
civilization than previously understood, especially within suitable,
low-elevation mountain environments.” (Dillehay et. All., 2007) Also,
the specimens found were of plants previously thought to be cultivated
much later. These crops include: cotton, quinoa, peanuts and squash.
The abundance and placement of the specimens (under grinding stones,
hearths, in mud floors…etc.) lead researchers to believe that the
plants were not just products of trade, but were actually being farmed
in this region. (Dillehay et. All., 2007)
The introduction of farming also had profound and
lasting effects on the social structures, and population distribution
within the country. When the societies were based on hunting and
gathering they were very small clans, as it was impossible to support
larger groups due to scarcity of food, and these groups needed to be
mobile. Crop cultivation created an abundance of food, allowing the
populations to greatly increase. With the larger stationary societies,
more order and regulation was needed thus giving birth to the first
governments.
These farming societies generally were located in the
river valleys, for the obvious close proximity to an abundance of water
to irrigate the crops with. The societies continued to be close knit,
and to supplement their crops with hunting and gathering. The houses
were generally situated close to the farmland for easy access to the
fields. These societies also show signs of having vast and advanced
trading networks by the types of seed and shells found in the
archaeological sites.
During such excavations archaeologists found cotton
fibers stuck in rakes, and in the mud floors. These fibers were
radiocarbon dated to about 5490 years BP. It is thought that the
natives used the cotton for clothing, bags and fishing nets; items
similar to what cotton is used for today. Historians also believe tat
cotton was domesticated in region of South western Ecuador and North
western Peru.
Another seed they found was quinoa. When quinoa is
found at an archaeology site, usually it means that the crop was
cultivated for many years. This is because the quinoa seeds usually do
not stay viable for more than one year. Therefore if quinoa was not
planted for one year the crop could be lost forever to the entire
region. (Dillehay et. All., 2007) Quinoa is very high in nutrition, and
thus very important to the people at that time. In order to eat quinoa
one must remove the bitter and hard exterior shell. The bitter shell,
although it makes the grain harder for humans to consume, protected it
against rodent and insect infestation, making it very easy to store for
long periods of time. The quinoa found dated back to 8000 and 7500
years BP.
The peanuts found are from around the same period as
the quinoa, dated back to 7840 years BP. Before found in this
archaeological site, peanuts were thought to have been cultivated much
later and only in the lowland sub-tropic regions. (Dillehay et. All,
2007) Although the peanuts found are very similar to their ancestor,
Arachis, it is thought they were starting to domesticate this species.
This is mostly due to the fact that they were found so far from their
native habitat.
Also found a long ways from its “natural area of
growth” and being domesticated, was squash. (Dillehay et. All., 2007)
Although the wild origins of this squash are still unknown, due to the
size of the seeds botanists are almost sure it was in the process of
being domesticated. Similar seeds have been found in Ecuador, while the
squash is thought to have originated in lowland Columbia.
As radiocarbon dating is getting more accurate, and
more information is being discovered about the ancestors of these
crops, a new agricultural timeline is forming. This new timeline will
help us better understand the history of the region and the native
peoples. Through this better understanding we can better decipher the
progression and migration patterns of people and plants alike, and
hopefully maybe even unlock some secrets to the future.
Dillehay, Tom D., Jack Rossen, Thomas C. Andres, and David E. Williams.
"Preceramic Adoption of Peanut, Squash and Cotton in Northern Peru."
Science Magazine 316 (2007): 1890-893. Science Magazine. 29 June 2007.
12 Nov. 2008
<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;316/5833/1890>.