were made and the number of sacrifices made on each mountain. Mountain deities were worshiped because it was believed that they controlled things like rainfall, water flow and, therefore, the abundance and fertility of crops. Other practices The Inca practiced cranial deformation. They achieved this by wrapping tight cloth straps around the heads of newborns to alter the shape of their still-soft skulls. These deformations did not result in brain damage. Researchers at the Field Museum believe that the practice was used to mark different ethnicities across the Inca Empire. The Inca preserved bodies through mummification. Bodies were wrapped in the fetal position in cloth or leather. Rank determined how the Incas were buried. Common people were placed in an open cave or chullpa for possible visiting. Emperors' organs were removed and placed in jars separate from their bodies. After preparation, they were placed where they most occupied in life. Agriculture It is estimated that the Inca cultivated around seventy crop species. The main crops were:potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, chili peppers, cotton, tomatoes, peanuts, an edible root called oca and the pseudograins quinoa and amaranth. The crops developed by the Inca and preceding cultures makes South America one of the historic centers of crop diversity (along with:the Middle East, India, Mesoamerica, Ethiopia and the Far East). Many of these crops were widely distributed by the Spanish and are now important crops worldwide. Salsa was originated by the Inca people using tomatoes, chili peppers and other spices. In the Incan settlement of Vitcos, pollen from corn and quinoa was found in several soil samples which date back as early as the Incan period. The Inca cultivated food crops on dry Pacific coastlines, high on the slopes of the Andes and in the lowland Amazon rainforest. In mountainous Andean environments, they made extensive use of terraced fields which not only allowed them to put to use the mineral-rich mountain soil which other peoples left fallow but also took advantage of micro-climates conducive to a variety of crops being cultivated throughout the year. A contributing factor for the ability of the Inca to expand their population and agriculture as quick as they did, was because of a small climate shift that allowed for slightly warmer temperatures and a small increase in annual precipitation. This contributed to the Inca's ability to use terraced and irrigated fields in higher elevations, opening up vast amount of