|
 |
 |
by Rick Groleau Terraced rice paddies, masterpieces of ancient engineering, have existed in China, the Philippines, and elsewhere for as long as two millennia. You don't have to be an expert to know that the building of these stepped paddies -- done without the aid of machinery -- is no minor undertaking. How, then, do farmers construct them? A casual glance might lead you to believe that farmers carve them into hillsides, using the dug-up rock to build the retaining walls and the excavated earth to level the terraces. Well, looks can be deceiving. Build a Rice Paddy Requires the free Flash plug-in Build a Rice Paddy (non-Flash version) Primary source: Ethnographic Atlas of Ifugao, by Harold C. Conklin. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980. Rick Groleau is managing editor of NOVA Online. Animal Transformations | Miracle of Rice Secrets of Hibernation | Build a Rice Paddy | Resources Transcript | Site Map | Japan's Secret Garden Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated December 2000 |
Go to "Build a Rice Paddy"