Which mechanical process MOST directly prevented soil erosion on hillside terraces utilized by the Inca civilization?

💡 Explanation

When rain falls on terraces, stone walls physically block the downhill flow of soil and water via sediment trapping because gravity acts upon loose particles. Sediment trapping therefore occurs, rather than other measures which would have been impossible without iron tools.

• Which structural consequence was common in 18th-century wooden ships experiencing differential swelling?
• Which structural demand challenged Byzantine architects constructing the Hagia Sophia's dome atop a square base?
• Which mechanism initially hampered early attempts at powered heavier-than-air flight by inventors such as Otto Lilienthal?
• Which error introduced when a chronometer's mainspring weakens affecting its isochronism?
• Which optical consequence primarily arises during a solar eclipse viewed through early Islamic pinhole cameras ('camera obscura')?
• Which structural compromise allowed Roman arch bridges to span wider gaps compared to earlier stone beam bridges?