Water storage made prehistoric settlement expansion possible in Amazonia
Water storage made prehistoric settlement expansion possible in Amazonia
April 28, 2016
University of Gothenburg
Summary:
The pre-Columbian settlements in Amazonia were not limited to the vicinities of rivers and lakes. One example of this can be found in the Santarém region in Brazilian Amazonia, where most archaeological sites are situated in an upland area and are the result of an expansion of settlements in the last few centuries before the arrival of Europeans.
Contemporary water storage. Location: Bom Futuro.
Credit: Per Stenborg
The pre-Columbian settlements in Amazonia were not limited to the vicinities of rivers and lakes. One example of this can be found in the Santarém region in Brazilian Amazonia, where most archaeological sites are situated in an upland area and are the result of an expansion of settlements in the last few centuries before the arrival of Europeans. This is concluded by a research team consisting of archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg and Brazilian colleagues.
'Our results stand in contrast to the traditional understanding of pre-Columbian Amazonia. A common view has been that villages only existed along the rivers. However, our work shows that people eventually also populated inland areas,' says Per Stenborg, archaeologist and director of the Swedish part of the Swedish-Brazilian project Cultivated Wilderness: Socio-economic Development and Environmental Change in Pre-Columbian Amazonia.
The project started 10 years ago and involves archaeologists and soil scientists. Road constructions and exploitation in the region have rendered archaeological rescue work even more urgent.
The remains of more than 110 human settlements have been found, and most of them were built on the so-called Belterra Plateau, situated south of the present city of Santarém. Some of the sites have been investigated in more detail.
'We found both large natural and small human-made depressions that were used for water storage. The human-made depressions, or ponds, have been enclosed by berms consisting of a mix of compact clay soil and household waste, such as pottery sherds. We have also been able to date a lot of material, including pottery and charcoal from hearths.'
It has long been known that people have populated areas along the rivers for thousands of years. What Stenborg and his colleagues have been able to add to this knowledge is that something happened around the fourteenth century.
More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160428103155.htm