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- Title
Pre-Columbian earth-builders settled along the entire southern rim of the Amazon.
- Authors
de Souza, Jonas Gregorio; Schaan, Denise Pahl; Robinson, Mark; Barbosa, Antonia Damasceno; Aragão, Luiz E. O. C.; Marimon Jr., Ben Hur; Marimon, Beatriz Schwantes; da Silva, Izaias Brasil; Khan, Salman Saeed; Nakahara, Francisco Ruji; Iriarte, José
- Abstract
The discovery of large geometrical earthworks in interfluvial settings of southern Amazonia has challenged the idea that Pre-Columbian populations were concentrated along the major floodplains. However, a spatial gap in the archaeological record of the Amazon has limited the assessment of the territorial extent of earth-builders. Here, we report the discovery of Pre- Columbian ditched enclosures in the Tapajós headwaters. The results show that an 1800 km stretch of southern Amazonia was occupied by earth-building cultures living in fortified villages ~Cal AD 1250-1500. We model earthwork distribution in this broad region using recorded sites, with environmental and terrain variables as predictors, estimating that earthworks will be found over ~400,000 km2 of southern Amazonia. We conclude that the interfluves and minor tributaries of southern Amazonia sustained high population densities, calling for a re-evaluation of the role of this region for Pre-Columbian cultural developments and environmental impact.
- Subjects
EARTHWORKS (Archaeology); ARCHAEOLOGY; BIODIVERSITY; CITIES &; towns; POPULATION density
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2018, Vol 9, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-018-03510-7