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Field Reports: Aboriginal Earthworks near the Mouth of the Beni, Bolivia
Abstract
Extensive earthworks in the form of fields, canals, mounds, and causeways have been reported for the tropical savannas in many areas of South America, but few such earthworks are known from the tropical forest habitat outside of thesegrasslands. This paper reports on the ditch-like earthworks at a remote site in the tropical forest of extreme NE Bolivia. In contrast to most earthworks reported elsewhere in South America, those described here are identified, based on ethnographic parallels, as canals and moats and lie on the edge of the active floodplain on the Beni River in a tropical forest environment. While such earthworks occur in the forested “islands”,of the Llanos de Mojos further south, earthworks of this size and extent are unusual in the tropical forest of South America because much of this environment cannot support sedentary populations of the size and density necessary for their construction.
... También se conocen canales que circundan poblaciones antiguas y dan cuenta de un importante asentamiento humano en el bosque tropical, como en la Laguna Tumi Chucua (Prettol y Arnold 1988), algunos sectores del río Orthon (Arellano 2002) y en las riberas del Alto Manuripi (Michel 1993). ...
El quehacer arqueológico en Bolivia tiene una historia relativamente nueva. Las investigaciones realizadas desde fines del siglo XIX y hasta nuestros días, con distintos objetivos y alcances, han dado lugar a un continuo crecimiento sobre el entendimiento del pasado prehispánico. Los trabajos presentados en este volumen muestran el estado de las investigaciones arqueológicas en Bolivia y la madurez que esta ciencia ha ido alcanzando en Bolivia a inicios del siglo XXI. La información presentada en este volumen editado sintetiza, en gran medida, la situación o estado de la cuestión de las investigaciones arqueológicas en distintas regiones de Bolivia durante la primera mitad de la década inicial del presente siglo.
... En El Círculo fueron encontrados gránulos de resina, material utilizado por los Cavineños (y en la zona sólo por ellos) para recubrir vasos pintados, una costumbre suya confirmada en fuentes etnográficas (Key 1964;Métraux 1948). En este sitio, no había evidencia de palizada, al contrario de por ejemplo, en Tumichucuasitio temprano en este área (Arnold y Prettol 1988). Sin embargo, la presencia en la embocadura del río Beni de las zanjas circundantes puede demostrar sus funciones defensivas, sugiriendo tiempos poco tranquilos. ...
... Archaeological discoveries within the past few decades now support a theory counter to the one that has been widespread for decades-that indigenous societies of the Amazon are, and always have been, primitive hunting and gathering tribes whose size and complexity are restrained by the environmental obstacles (Meggers 1971 (Block 1994;Denevan 1970), and archaeological excavations since the 1970's have revealed evidence of extensive human habitation with a sophisticated culture (Arnold, et al 1988;Calandra 2004;Denevan 1970;Dougherty 1981Dougherty , 1984Erickson 2000Erickson , 2006bHeckenberger, et al 1999;Heckenberger 2008;Langstroth 1996;Mann 2008;Neves 2006;Plafker 1963;Walker 2000Walker , 2004Walker , 2008aWalker , 2008b. ...
Recent discoveries about pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon have revolutionized the way researchers think about the environment, and the degree of interaction that humans have with their surroundings. New evidence indicates that ancient Amazonian populations were not only much larger and more complex than previously thought, but they were also modifying their environment and creating artificial landscapes. Although information about pre-Columbian cultures can be gained from archaeological excavations and historical accounts, the advent of new technology allows archaeologists to conduct research remotely. Earthworks were constructed by pre-Hispanic peoples to create higher ground for occupation and agriculture, as an adaptation to the annual flooding of the Llanos de Mojos in the Bolivian Amazon. Over the centuries, patches of forest have grown
on these earthworks due to their higher elevation and drier soils. By mapping these 'forest islands' using the satellite imagery from Google Earth and transferring the data into Quantum GIS, spatial patterns between the geographical features have been analyzed to reveal relationships between pre-Columbian earthworks, natural and artificial landscape features, and settlement patterns. This research supports theories of large and complex pre-Columbian populations in the Bolivian Amazon. Patterns between the different size, shape, and location of forest islands show a correlation between specific types of forest islands and water sources, which indicates that pre-Columbian societies were constructing earthworks based on function and distance to water.
... The southern neighboring region of Acre, in Bolivia, comprises the lowland rainforest area in the departments of Pando and Beni, where ancient earthwork sites have been documented on the terraces of the Orthon River and in the vicinity of the town of Riberalta (Arellano 2002;Arnold and Prettol 1988;Saunaluoma 2010). These earthworks typically consist of large, irregularly circular ditches enclosing habitation sites and canal systems connecting different waterways, such as the main river with a minor watercourse. ...
Amazonian earthworks, which are an important testimony to ancient anthropogenic landscape modifications, have a significant variety of structures and sizes, and are found in different geographical and ecological locations that indicate separate time periods, distinct cultural affiliations, and diverse purposes. We introduce data from diverse archaeological earthwork sites, geoglyphs, mound sites, and walled enclosures situated in the interfluves of the Purus River in the Brazilian state of Acre and propose a type definition for these sites. The abundant anthropogenic landscape features and their associated material culture indicate considerable human-induced environmental alterations and diverse earthworking traditions that are characteristic of the region of eastern Acre from at least ca. 2000 b.p. onwards.
... Víctor Bustos e Kenneth Lee visitaram La Fortaleza de las Piedras, descrevendoo como um sítio defensivo e cerimonial e observaram a existência do sítio El Anillo, isto é, El Círculo (BUSTOS, 1978). Investigações arqueológicas mais recentes incluem as pesquisas do sítio Tumichucua (ARNOLD & PRETTOL, 1988), situada a cerca de 18 km à sudoeste de Riberalta e um reconhecimento realizado ao longo do baixo rio Orton (ARELLANO, 2002). Os resultados preliminares do projeto finlandês-boliviano intitulado "Amazonian Interests of the Incas" foram publicados no início da década 2000 (SIIRIÄINEN & KORPISAARI, 2002. ...
Este artigo visa apresentar uma síntese das pesquisas arqueológicas realizadas nos sítios com estruturas de terra em Riberalta e no estado do Acre, na Amazônia Sul-Ocidental. Os sítios nas duas regiões vizinhas foram comparados discutindo seus paralelos e diferenças. Os sítios bolivianos, sendo estruturalmente menos complexos, são interpretados como assentamentos permanentes, enquanto no Acre as estruturas de terra foram construídas principalmente para fins cerimoniais. A prática da engenharia de terra prevaleceu em Riberalta de 200 a.C. até o Período Colonial. No Acre, a tradição começou mais cedo, ca. 1200 a.C. As populações formativas que ocuparam estes sítios demonstram um sedentarismo emergente e desenvolvimento organizacional. No contexto do Acre os povos foram unidos por um sistema ideológico materializado na arquitetura das estruturas de terra geométricas.
Fieldwork and desk-based research in the western Amazon basin has led to an explosive growth in the state of knowledge surrounding the pre-Columbian archaeology of this region. Previously thought to be a sparsely occupied environment, archaeologists have recorded hundreds of geometric earthworks between the Purús and Acre rivers in recent years, spurring renewed interest in understanding the distribution, age, and function of these structures. A challenge has been to identify possible relationships between sites and to place them in their broader landscape setting. The precise spatial scale, relative importance of different factors, and strength of any relationships that contributed to shaping their distributions remain an open question. This paper develops and applies an explicitly spatial framework to address this problem, drawing on a rich body of recent research in Acre state (Brazil) and advanced point process modelling. The analytical approach, which is fully documented and reproducible with the accompanying code, infers the factors affecting geometric earthwork distribution at multiple spatial scales. This enables the first robust predictions of territorial integration in the region, which is discussed context of extant archaeological models. The findings support the interpretation that non-stratified societies likely occupied Acre during the late pre-Columbian period.
INTRODUÇÃO No século XIX, viajantes na Amazônia ficaram fascinados pelas extensas áreas de terra preta, cheias de cerâmica e outros artefatos atribuídos a assentamentos abandonados (FERREIRA PENNA, 1869). Charles Hartt (1885) e Herbert Smith observaram a presença de terra preta em muitos lugares na região do baixo Tapajós. Smith diz que o solo fértil era " o melhor da Amazônia " e " deve sua riqueza ao lixo de mil cozinhas por talvez mil anos " (SMITH, 1879:168, tradução do inglês pelo autor). Ele relata que cana de açúcar, tabaco, guaraná, milho, algodão e outros eram " cultivados nas ricas terras pretas ao longo dos barrancos onde os índios tiveram suas aldeias há muito tempo atrás... a terra preta é quase continua... em muitos lugares cerâmica e instrumentos de pedra cobrem a superfície como conchas em uma praia lavada pelo mar " (SMITH, 1879: 238). Até hoje, diversos habitantes na Amazônia reconhecem a alta fertilidade de terra preta e as utilizam para plantar diversos cultivos (GERMAN, 2001, 2003; SCHMIDT, 2010; SMITH, 1980). Para cientistas e outros, o que chama atenção nestes solos é a sua extraordinária fertilidade e resiliência com altas concentrações de carbono e nutrientes em uma região conhecida pela baixa fertilidade de seus latossolos para a agricultura. Solos que foram bastante modificados pelas ações humanas são chamados de solos antrópicos. A terra preta da Amazônia representa um dos mais conhecidos tipos de solos antrópicos no mundo. Porém é complicado falar de 'tipos', desde que análises das propriedades do solo indicam que se comportam mais como um contínuo com gradações de impactos nas diferentes áreas de atividade humanas, além de mudanças no uso do espaço durante o tempo e processos geológicos provocados por outros organismos, água, vento, sol e gravidade (FRASER et al., 2011; KERN, 1996; SCHMIDT, 2010; SCHMIDT et al., 2014). As atividades humanas que modificam o solo na Amazônia também incluem atividades
El olvido y desprecio de los conocimientos tecnológicos-científicos del Altiplano trajo como consecuencia el empobrecimiento y disminución del nivel de vida de los campesinos. Muestra del gran bagaje de conocimientos tecnológicos sobre la conservación del recurso suelo-agua en las culturas precolombinas es la adecuación de la topografía altiplánica en andenes, camellones, q'ochas y la forestación con especies nativas. Previamente, queremos dar unos conceptos sobre la tecnología como parte de la cultura que penetra y es penetrada por otras esferas culturales.
1985 (With W. Denevan) The Use of Wetlands in the Prehistoric Economy of the Northern Ecuadorian Highlands, in Prehistoric Intensive Agriculture in the Tropics, I. S. Farrington, ed., pp. 185-207. Oxford: BAR International Series 232.
With respect to studies of precolumbian intensive agricultural systems, the Llanos de Mojos of Eastern Bolivia have much to offer in terms of impressive engineering projects such as raised field agriculture and associated networks of canals, causeways, reservoirs, and the dense and presumably well organized prehistoric populations utilizing these field systems. Previous investigations into the prehistory of the Llanos de Mojos have relied heavily on the use of aerial photography and were primarily limited to the savanna grassland zones with little or no excavation or on-ground archaeological survey undertaken. A joint archaeological survey was conducted by the University of Illinois and the Instituto Nacional de Arqueologia de Bolivia (INAR) during the months of June through August of 1978 in the zone between Trinidad and San Borja which crosses the center of the Llanos de Mojos. Large sites, canal and causeway networks, and complexes of raised fields were located during the survey. -English summary
Throughout the wide flood savanna to the north of Bolivia called Llanos de Moxos, significant time-space discontinuities are found in human settlement, level of socio-cultural complexity and exploitation patterns. The vinculation of archaeological and ethnographical societies is hard to establish. This may partly be the result of the classification of some of them as 'tropical forest chiefdoms' based on some pre-conceptions requiring a re-evaluation of the prehistory of the area from a causal viewpoint. Flood agriculture in the Llanos, as an alternative or supplementary agricultural system for tropical forest slash-and-burn cultivation, was developed at an uncertain pre-Hispanic data, and has clear association to one of the different habitats within the Llanos. Ethnographical societies look in some cases, like the result of a cultural limitation, implying a 'devolution' in response to a limiting environment that required an excess of human input to overcome climatic unpredictability, or perhaps to drastic climatic changes in the area. All 14C dates available for the Llanos are included, to contrast them against demographic increases through time.-Authors
This chapter discusses the hydraulic agriculture in the American tropics. The known indigenous alternatives to rain-fed swidden agriculture in tropical America are orchards, house gardens, mounding, terracing, playa and levee cultivation, irrigation, ditching, and raised fields. Hydraulic agriculture, in the broadest sense, can refer to any intentional manipulation of water to improve growing conditions for cultivated crops. Mounds and narrow ridges may serve to minimize upper-soil waterlogging. They also serve other functions, including soil aeration, weed control, and fertility addition. They do not survive well in the tropics, and a little is known about them, but they probably were not swidden fields. However, there are no environmental limitations to the development of agriculture, only cultural limitations. Agricultural potential is a cultural phenomenon; it is not something inherent in nature that can be measured, that exists independent of culture. At present, with available technology, agriculture can be carried out anywhere on earth. Whether it is or not in any given habitat is dependent on whether the culture involved has the necessary technology and whether or not there is a perceived need in relation to the costs involved. The current technology makes it possible to control temperature, move water, and make soil.
