Environmental impact of the pre-Columbian geoglyph builders of Western Amazonia
A debate that has received much attention in recent years is the nature and scale of pre-Columbian impact in the Amazon lowlands. While the notion that Amazonia is a âpristine wilderness~ has long been debunked, several papers have proposed that human impact in western regions was more sporadic and on a smaller scale than impacts in central and eastern regions, and that western Amazonia supported sparse pre-Columbian populations. The discovery of over 400 geometrically-patterned earthworks (geoglyphs) in the western Brazilian Amazon, which until recently lay under in-tact tropical forest, has raised important questions about the kind of societies that built them and the impact that they had on the terra firme upland landscapes. This study represents the very first investigations into human-environment interactions in the geoglyph region. By analysing phytoliths, charcoal and stable carbon isotopes from a series of soil profiles in the vicinities of two well-dated and excavated geoglyph sites, this study aims to discern the nature of the environment before, during and after the construction and use of the sites, and the spatial and temporal scales of landscape transformations that were effected by the geoglyph
Watling, Jennifer Georgina
Amazonian archaeology ; geoglyphs ; phytoliths ; palaeoecology
Environmental impact of the pre-Columbian geoglyph builders of Western Amazonia. A debate that has received much attention in recent years is the nature and scale of pre-Columbian impact in the Amazon lowlands. While the notion that Amazonia is a âpristine wilderness~ has long been debunked, several papers have proposed that human impact in western regions was more sporadic and on a smaller scale than impacts in central and eastern regions, and that western Amazonia supported sparse pre-Columbian populations. The discovery of over 400 geometrically-patterned earthworks (geoglyphs) in the western Brazilian Amazon, which until recently lay under in-tact tropical forest, has raised important questions about the kind of societies that built them and the impact that they had on the terra firme upland landscapes. This study represents the very first investigations into human-environment interactions in the geoglyph region. By analysing phytoliths, charcoal and stable carbon isotopes from a series of soil profiles in the vicinities of two well-dated and excavated geoglyph sites, this study aims to discern the nature of the environment before, during and after the construction and use of the sites, and the spatial and temporal scales of landscape transformations that were effected by the geoglyph
environmental_impact pre_columbian builder western debate receive_much_attention nature_scale pre_columbian impact lowlands notion pristine wilderness long several paper propose human_impact western region sporadic small_scale impact central_eastern region western support sparse pre_columbian population discovery earthwork western brazilian recently lay tropical forest raise_important question kind society build impact terra upland landscape study represent_first investigation human_environment interaction region analyse phytoliths charcoal stable_carbon isotopes series soil_profile vicinity well dated excavate site study aim discern nature environment construction use site spatial_temporal scale landscape transformation effect