Ch'arki (Andean dried meat)
Ch'arki (carne seca andina)
- Date
- c. 1400 · confidence low
- Place
- Cusco, Peru
- Credited to
- Quechua and Inca peoples
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Llama or alpaca meat cut into strips, salted and dried in the sun and high-altitude frosts. Its Quechua name gave rise to the English word jerky and fed armies and waystations across the Tawantinsuyu.
Dried meat exists in many cultures (pemmican, biltong); the Andean ch'arki is included here for its name and imperial scale. The date is approximate, tied to the Inca peak.
What it led to
- supplying Inca waystations and armies
- charque and tasajo of cattle in the River Plate
- long-lasting dried meat as a travel food
Built on
- Chuño: Andean freeze-drying of potatoesc. 500 CE
- Smoking and drying of food