Which was the main purpose of chinampas?
(1 point)
Responses
to increase the amount of farmland
to increase the amount of farmland
to protect the Aztec from attack
to protect the Aztec from attack
to carry fresh water to fields
to carry fresh water to fields
to transport people and goods
The main purpose of chinampas was to increase the amount of farmland.
Chinampas were an ingenious agricultural system developed by the Aztecs and other pre-Hispanic peoples in the Valley of Mexico. They are sometimes referred to as "floating gardens" and were used to create fertile and productive land for growing crops on the shallow lake beds in the region. These artificially constructed plots of land were built by staking out the shallow lake bed and then fencing in the rectangle with wattle. The enclosed area was then layered with mud, sediment, and decaying vegetation, which created a fertile area for planting crops that were well-irrigated by the surrounding water. This allowed for intensive agriculture in an area that originally did not have enough suitable land for traditional farming.