There are many ways to say "poop" in Spanish. Caca is the word most commonly used by children (or by me before I learned the more technical ag vocab for poop). Estiércol refers more specifically to poop as a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, and guano describes manure from animals like llamas, alpacas, sheep, and poultry. In the Peruvian Altiplano, this dung is precious and essential in everyday life, used as both a natural fertilizer and fuel source. One study of a Quechua c

Experience this beautiful harvest through photos linked here! We inch away through the soil, breaking apart clumps with our sturdy picotas (hammer-like tools with sharp, flat heads), or lijuanas in the ingenious Aymara language, to uncover dense bunches of potatoes beneath us. With our hands deep in the soil, we sift around to feel for every little potato nugget, ranging from grape- to fist-sized. Each short row yields hundreds, and we toss handful after handful into massive

I peer up at walls lined with shelves of pre-Columbian pottery resembling ducks and llamas and humans. Many vessels feature the cold faces of gods or intricate patterns. Some take the form of corn husks or lumpy potatoes. And with faces of their own, even the foods stare back. I turn a corner to find myself face-to-face with the most unhappy-looking potatoes I’ve ever seen. On a shelf before me, a pot features three potatoes who show their jagged teeth in a haunting frown. Af