{"id":387012,"date":"2021-03-17T15:49:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T18:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=387012"},"modified":"2021-04-05T18:10:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T21:10:07","slug":"the-interconnected-peoples-of-ancient-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/the-interconnected-peoples-of-ancient-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"The interconnected peoples of ancient Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1887, a party of 35 people led by colonel Antonio Rodrigues Pereira Labre (1827\u20131899) traveled 200 kilometers (km) on foot on an expedition to plan overland rubber transport routes from the Madre de Dios River in Bolivia to the Acre River in present-day Brazil. But the expedition also provided an important account about the indigenous peoples living in this Amazon region, then and in the more distant past. \u201cFrom this abandoned maloca<\/em>, we headed to Canamary, passing through several ancient, abandoned villages and many crossings where several roads intersected each other in all directions,\u201d wrote Labre in his report, published in 1888 in Revista da Sociedade de Geographia do Rio de Janeiro<\/em>. \u201cThe men report having walked for 20 days straight along existing roads,\u201d notes archaeologist Eduardo G\u00f3es Neves, of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (MAE-USP).<\/p>\n

Around 120 years after Labre\u2019s expedition, a transmission line tower was erected on one of these ancient indigenous roads in eastern Acre, which had gone undetected in the preceding environmental impact assessment. \u201cThe road wasn\u2019t recognized because it was common wisdom that indigenous peoples never built roads,\u201d explains archaeologist Laura Furquim, a doctoral student in Neves\u2019s group. In 2014, the USP team was engaged by the National Institute for Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) to prepare a report on the deteriorating structures. \u201cWe set up a field school now attended by students from Acre, Rond\u00f4nia, and S\u00e3o Paulo,\u201d says Neves. Their findings, which they reported in an article published in November in Latin American Antiquity, <\/em>describe a pre-Columbian network of villages interconnected by well-maintained roads (see <\/em>Pesquisa FAPESP issue no. 267<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The study, led by Finnish archaeologist Sanna Saunaluoma during a postdoctoral internship in Brazil in 2015, is centered around a cluster of 18 archaeological villages with large circular or ellipse-shaped central plazas about 2 to 3 hectares (ha) in diameter. Encircling the plazas are 15 to 25 mounds about 2.5 meters (m) in height and between 10 and 25 m in maximum basal length. And radiating from the villages are sunken paths bounded by elongated mounds\u2014there are no stones available at the site\u2014leading to nearby watercourses and other villages. When seen from above, these mounds resemble the rays of the sun.<\/p>\n

Using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), the researchers were able to detect prominent patterning which they reproduced in hillshaded 3D models. Radiocarbon measurements showed that the structures had been built around 1300 to 1600 AD. The researchers soon found that the road network was much more extensive than initially thought.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo G\u00f3es Neves \/ USP<\/span><\/a> An excavation at the Sol de Campinas site: cookware and plant remains provide evidence of when the area was inhabited and the ways of life of early inhabitantsEduardo G\u00f3es Neves \/ USP<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Their concern now is in gaining as much insight into these ancient cultures as possible while traces of them still remain. \u201cThe region is at the deforestation frontier, with many areas being cleared for farming,\u201d says Neves. \u201cFarmers often deliberately destroy archaeological sites so they won\u2019t be restricted from using the land for agriculture.\u201d This happened at Sol de Campinas, one of the major sites being investigated by the USP group. \u201cHalf of the mounds were bulldozed, and recently the Fazenda Crich\u00e1 geoglyph was also destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site, now a field sparsely populated by bamboo stands, was a dense jungle 50 years ago. Archaeological remains in the area provide evidence of pre-Columbian domestication of edible plants (see <\/em>Pesquisa FAPESP issue no. 253<\/em><\/a>). Neves pictures a villagescape with pathways lined with trees and agroforestry systems. \u201cWe traveled down a good and well-kept road; we passed through three villages with well-built houses and cultivated fields,\u201d wrote Labre in his report, which archaeologist Cliverson Pessoa, a doctoral student in Neves\u2019s group, explored in a 2017 paper in Tellus.<\/em><\/p>\n

And while available research data is insufficient to paint a detailed picture of what pre-Columbian agriculture may have been like, Laura Furquim, who has worked in the region since 2014, is investigating the use of edible plants by early inhabitants at Sol de Campinas, in the municipality of Senador Guiomard. Using archaeobotanical methods, she is analyzing the remains of seeds and other plant matter used by the area\u2019s ancient inhabitants. \u201cWe found an abundance of maize kernels,\u201d she says, suggesting intensive consumption and cultivation. She is also analyzing trace plant matter found in cookware\u2014such as when rice is overcooked and sticks to the bottom of the pan. \u201cBy examining starchy plant matter under a microscope, we can identify the different types of plants, such as tubers,\u201d she explains. The damage visible on some kernels can provide clues into the methods used to process them. “We found evidence that the maize was either roasted or fermented.\u201d Her study, which is still ongoing, is attempting to reconstruct the eating habits of these indigenous groups.<\/p>\n

She believes the area was abandoned in the eighteenth century following the arrival of European colonists in search of wealth from the rubber trade, with the local indigenous peoples either migrating away or becoming slaves. Ancient agroforestry systems consisted of a combination of cultivated plants like corn, beans, and fruits\u2014such as passion fruit\u2014in the central village plazas, encircled by domesticated trees bearing edible fruits and nuts, such as a\u00e7a\u00ed<\/em> and tucum\u00e3<\/em>. Today, these biodiverse practices have been replaced by large-scale monoculture of transgenic soy and maize, as well as pastures for cattle\u2014such as on the property containing the Sol de Campinas site.<\/p>\n

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Sanna Saunaluoma & Justin Moat <\/span><\/a> 3D models reproducing aerial imagery show the layout of the mound villagesSanna Saunaluoma & Justin Moat <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Mound sites are part of a broader category of vestiges of human occupation, known as geoglyphs\u2014changes made to the terrain by human inhabitants. More than 500 have been found in the western portion of the Amazon over the past 20 years, after paleontologist Alceu Ranzi, of the Federal University of Acre, first spotted a huge circle from the window of an airplane flying to Rio Branco, northern Brazil.\u00a0 Ranzi, who had received training in geography, timed how long it took to fly from the spot to a known reference point. He then borrowed a plane and flew back to the site to investigate and take photographs. He found it precisely where he estimated it to be, deep in the jungle. \u201cWhen our eyes have been trained, we soon begin to spot geoglyphs right and left,\u201d says Ranzi.<\/p>\n

He immediately knew the geometric shape beneath the jungle canopy could be a significant discovery, and reported what he had seen to archaeologist Denise Schaan (1962\u20132018), who started an investigation of the area, then a virgin territory for archaeologists. \u201cIt was far from what were then the archaeological hotspots\u2014Maraj\u00f3 and Cusco, Peru,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Today this has changed. Schaan partnered with Finnish researchers led by archaeologist Martti P\u00e4rssinen, and researchers from other countries and from across Brazil\u2014like Neves\u2014were soon attracted to the region, now an archaeological research hub.<\/p>\n

Excavations have revealed that geometric geoglyphs in eastern Acre were used not for residential purposes, but as ceremonial arenas where groups living elsewhere assembled. Mound site excavations in Acre and Amazonas suggest that even these older structures may have been connected by roads, as P\u00e4rssinen and Ranzi report in a chapter of the book (I)mobilidades na pr\u00e9-hist\u00f3ria<\/em> ((Im)mobility in prehistoric times), published in March 2020. \u201cThe oldest radiocarbon sample we obtained at the Tequinho site in Acre was clearly associated with the site\u2019s north road, and was dated at between 63 BC and 124 AD,\u201d P\u00e4rssinen wrote in an e-mail. \u201cIt is a date very similar to that obtained for the Atl\u00e2ntica site and its roads, which Saunaluoma excavated during her doctoral research\u2014between 200 BC and 20 AD.\u201d Post-publication of the book, they found an even older site elsewhere in the region, dating back to 750 BC.<\/p>\n

For P\u00e4rssinen, the recent article by Saunaluoma and Neves sheds new light on more recent geoglyphs, from a period when some geometric structures still retained their purely ceremonial status. \u201cIt seems to me that the network of geometric geoglyphs they describe, with its sophisticated road system, was inhabited by a multi-ethnic civilization that had a common worldview and shared common cultural traits,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

Archaeological research can also reveal links between human settlements, their land-use practices, and climate change. In a paper published in December in Antiquity<\/em>, P\u00e4rssinen, Ranzi, and other colleagues report finding no evidence of major changes in rainfall patterns around 10,000 years ago, when the earliest human settlements were formed away from major rivers, in the interfluves. Excavations at the Severino Calazans geoglyph site in Acre showed that about 4,000 years ago its early inhabitants used controlled burning to manage the landscape, much as the indigenous peoples in the region do today. These practices, rather than climate change, are thought to be responsible for the savannah-like patches that formed there in that period.<\/p>\n

One of the difficulties in studying geoglyphs is that they are typically found in already-deforested areas. When covered by the forest canopy, they are virtually invisible. But this has changed with the advent of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a technology that has revolutionized archaeology in the last decade. From an aerial vehicle, a LIDAR system emits 5,000 pulses of infrared rays per minute, and the time taken for the pulses to hit the surface and return to the sensor provides a measure of distance. In the Amazon, most of the rays are unable to penetrate the dense canopy. But the few that reach the ground are sufficient to generate a detailed rendition of the relief, as if the forest were not there.<\/p>\n

To test the technology, in 2018 a research team led by Jos\u00e9 Iriarte from the University of Exeter, UK, in collaboration with Ranzi and others, conducted a three-transect survey in Acre using a LIDAR system integrated into a helicopter. They reported the results in 2020 in the Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology<\/em>. They were able to accurately model the dimensions and relief of the mound sites and roads much faster than would be possible with traditional topographic methods. The main roads were between 3 and 6 m wide and had higher banks than secondary roads.<\/p>\n

The researchers found mound-like geoglyphs beneath the forest, overlapping structures, and roads connecting different villages. \u201cLIDAR lets researchers see what the naked eye cannot,\u201d says Ranzi.<\/p>\n

In a larger-scale study, Chris Fisher from Colorado State University hopes to map the entire Amazon using LIDAR in a collaboration with Neves. He is starting in the Amazon mainly because of the imminent threat of deforestation and destruction of archaeological sites by current human activities, in a region rich in the remains of ancient civilizations.\u00a0 \u201cIn 45 minutes, I can capture data that it would take decades to collect on foot,\u201d says Fisher.<\/p>\n

Another advantage of LIDAR is that it avoids the destruction of archaeological records. Setting up an archaeological dig site requires access: clearings for helicopters, trails, and roads. All of this damages the terrain, which can lead to erosion and loss of archaeological remains. With LIDAR technology, archaeologists can excavate only at selected points.<\/p>\n

Neves believes that, when fully mapped, the geoglyphs will confirm that a large population lived in remote areas of the Amazon well before the arrival of the Europeans. As Labre reported toward the end of the eighteenth century: \u201cFrom the places I visited and what I heard from the natives, I conclude that along the Curyketh\u00ea, Huaquery, and Entimary rivers, and along their tributaries, there live assembled together a great many savages, especially judging from the many roads, paths, and abandoned huts that I have seen along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Projects<\/strong>
\n1.<\/strong> Indigenous peoples and the environment in the Ancient Amazon (No. 19\/07794-9<\/a>); Principal Investigator<\/strong> Eduardo G\u00f3es Neves (USP); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Thematic Project; Agreement<\/strong> AHRC, UKRI; Investment<\/strong> R$2,732,154.84.
\n2.<\/strong> Relationships and movement: An archeology of cultivation and mobility patterns in the southwestern Amazon, from the year 1000 A.D. to the present (No. 18\/26679-3<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Doctoral (PhD) Fellowship; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Eduardo G\u00f3es Neves (USP); Beneficiary<\/strong> Laura Pereira Furquim; Investment<\/strong> R$163,229.04.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles<\/strong>
\nLABRE, A. R. P. Viagem exploradora do Rio Madre de Dios ao Acre. Revista da Sociedade de Geographia do Rio de Janeiro<\/strong>. Vol. IV, 2nd Bulletin, pp. 102\u2013114. 1888.
\nPESSOA, C. Do Manutata ao Uak\u00edry: Hist\u00f3ria ind\u00edgena em um relato de viagem na Amaz\u00f4nia ocidental (1887)<\/a>. Tellus<\/strong>. Vol. 34, pp. 81\u2013103. Sept.\u2013Dec. 2017.
\nSAUNALUOMA, S. et al.<\/em> Patterned villagescapes and road networks in ancient Southwestern Amazonia<\/a>. South American Antiquity<\/strong>. Online. Nov. 26, 2020.
\nP\u00c4RSSINEN, M. amd RANZI, A. Mobilidade cerimonial e a emerg\u00eancia do poder pol\u00edtico com as primeiras estradas conhecidas do oeste amaz\u00f4nico (2.000 A.P.)<\/a>. (I)mobilidades na pr\u00e9-hist\u00f3ria: Pessoas, recursos, objetos, s\u00edtios e territ\u00f3rios<\/strong>. VILA\u00c7A, R. and AGUIAR, R. S. (coords.) Coimbra University Press. pp. 307\u2013350. Mar. 2020.
\nP\u00c4RSSINEN, M. et al.<\/em> The geoglyph sites of Acre, Brazil: 10 000-year-old land-use practices and climate change in Amazonia<\/a>. Antiquity<\/strong>. Vol. 94, no. 378, pp. 1538\u201356. Dec. 1, 2020.
\nSOUZA, J. G. de et al<\/em>. Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia<\/a>. Nature Ecology and Evolution<\/strong>. Vol. 3, pp. 1007\u201317. June 17, 2019.
\nIRIARTE, J. et al.<\/em> Geometry by design: Contribution of Lidar to the understanding of settlement patterns of the mound villages in SW Amazonia<\/a>. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology<\/strong>. Vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 151\u201369. Apr. 28, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Road networks connected villages as far as 10 km apart and interwove their cultures in pre-Columbian periods","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":387606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[202],"coauthors":[1601],"class_list":["post-387012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-archaeology","position_at_home-sumario"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387012"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389204,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387012\/revisions\/389204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387012"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=387012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}