Impact of pre-Columbian "geoglyph" builders on Amazonian forests.
Over 450 pre-Columbian (pre-AD 1492) geometric ditched enclosures ("geoglyphs") occupy ∼13,000 km2of Acre state, Brazil, representing a key discovery of Amazonian archaeology. These huge earthworks were concealed for centuries underterra firme(upland interfluvial) rainforest, directly challenging the "pristine" status of this ecosystem and its perceived vulnerability to human impacts. We reconstruct the environmental context of geoglyph construction and the nature, extent, and legacy of associated human impacts. We show that bamboo forest dominated the region for ≥6,000 y and that only small, temporary clearings were made to build the geoglyphs; however, construction occurred within anthropogenic forest that had been actively managed for millennia. In the absence of widespread deforestation, exploitation of forest products shaped a largely forested landscape that survived intact until the late 20th century.
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-070, Brazil; jenny.g.watling@gmail.com.|Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QE, United Kingdom.
Jennifer
J
Watling
Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QE, United Kingdom.
José
J
Iriarte
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AB, United Kingdom.
Francis E
0000-0001-9208-0519
FE
Mayle
Department of Anthropology, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil.
Denise
D
Schaan
Centre of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13416-000, Brazil.
Luiz C R
LC
Pessenda
Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
Neil J
NJ
Loader
Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
F Alayne
0000-0003-1149-9110
FA
Street-Perrott
HD Analytical Solutions, Inc., London, ON M5H 1V3, Canada.
Ruth E
RE
Dickau
Department of Anthropology, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil.
Antonia
A
Damasceno
Laboratory of Paleontology, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco 69916-900, Brazil.
Alceu
A
Ranzi
D001106:Archaeology; D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D006801:Humans; D065947:Rainforest
Amazonian archaeology; Amazonian rainforest; paleoecology; pre-Columbian land use