More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia
Abstract
Indigenous societies are known to have occupied the Amazon basin for more than 12,000 years, but the scale of their influence on Amazonian forests remains uncertain. We report the discovery, using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) information from across the basin, of 24 previously undetected pre-Columbian earthworks beneath the forest canopy. Modeled distribution and abundance of large-scale archaeological sites across Amazonia suggest that between 10,272 and 23,648 sites remain to be discovered and that most will be found in the southwest. We also identified 53 domesticated tree species significantly associated with earthwork occurrence probability, likely suggesting past management practices. Closed-canopy forests across Amazonia are likely to contain thousands of undiscovered archaeological sites around which pre-Columbian societies actively modified forests, a discovery that opens opportunities for better understanding the magnitude of ancient human influence on Amazonia and its current state.
Citation
Peripato , V , Levis , C , Moreira , G A , Gamerman , D , Ter Steege , H , Pitman , N C A , de Souza , J G , Iriarte , J , Robinson , M , Junqueira , A B , Trindade , T B , de Almeida , F O , Moraes , C D P , Lombardo , U , Tamanaha , E K , Maezumi , S Y , Ometto , J P H B , Braga , J R G , Campanharo , W A , Cassol , H L G , Leal , P R , de Assis , M L R , da Silva , A M , Phillips , O L , Costa , F R C , Flores , B M , Henkel , T W , Umaña , M N , Magnusson , W E , Valderrama Sandoval , E H , Barlow , J , Milliken , W , Lopes , M A , Simon , M F , van Andel , T R , Laurance , S G W , Laurance , W F , Torres-Lezama , A , Assis , R L , Molino , J-F , Mestre , M , Hamblin , M , Coelho , L D S , Lima Filho , D D A , Wittmann , F , Salomão , R P , Amaral , I L , Guevara , J E , de Almeida Matos , F D , Castilho , C V , Carim , M D J V , Cárdenas López , D , Sabatier , D , Irume , M V , Martins , M P , Guimarães , J R D S , Bánki , O S , Piedade , M T F , Ramos , J F , Luize , B G , Novo , E M M D L , Núñez Vargas , P , Silva , T S F , Venticinque , E M , Manzatto , A G , Reis , N F C , Terborgh , J , Casula , K R , Demarchi , L O , Honorio Coronado , E N , Monteagudo Mendoza , A , Montero , J C , Schöngart , J , Feldpausch , T R , Quaresma , A C , Aymard C , G A , Baraloto , C , Castaño Arboleda , N , Engel , J , Petronelli , P , Zartman , C E , Killeen , T J , Marimon , B S , Marimon-Junior , B H , Schietti , J , Sousa , T R , Vasquez , R , Rincón , L M , Berenguer , E , Ferreira , J , Mostacedo , B , do Amaral , D D , Castellanos , H , de Medeiros , M B , Andrade , A , Camargo , J L , Farias , E D S , Magalhães , J L L , Mendonça Nascimento , H E , de Queiroz , H L , Brienen , R , Cardenas Revilla , J D , Stevenson , P R , Araujo-Murakami , A , Barçante Ladvocat Cintra , B , Feitosa , Y O , Barbosa , F R , Carpanedo , R D S , Duivenvoorden , J F , de Noronha , J D C , Rodrigues , D D J , Mogollón , H F , Ferreira , L V , Householder , J E , Lozada , J R , Comiskey , J A , Draper , F C , de Toledo , J J , Damasco , G , Dávila , N , García-Villacorta , R , Lopes , A , Cornejo Valverde , F , Alonso , A , Dallmeier , F , Gomes , V H F , Jimenez , E M , Neill , D , Peñuela Mora , M C , de Aguiar , D P P , Arroyo , L , Antunes Carvalho , F , Coelho de Souza , F , Feeley , K J , Gribel , R , Pansonato , M P , Ríos Paredes , M , Brasil da Silva , I , Ferreira , M J , Fine , P V A , Fonty , É , Guedes , M C , Licona , J C , Pennington , T , Peres , C A , Villa Zegarra , B E , Parada , G A , Pardo Molina , G , Vos , V A , Cerón , C , Maas , P , Silveira , M , Stropp , J , Thomas , R , Baker , T R , Daly , D , Huamantupa-Chuquimaco , I , Vieira , I C G , Weiss Albuquerque , B , Fuentes , A , Klitgaard , B , Marcelo-Peña , J L , Silman , M R , Tello , J S , Vriesendorp , C , Chave , J , Di Fiore , A , Hilário , R R , Phillips , J F , Rivas-Torres , G , von Hildebrand , P , Pereira , L D O , Barbosa , E M , de Matos Bonates , L C , Doza , H P D , Zárate Gómez , R , Gallardo Gonzales , G P , Gonzales , T , Malhi , Y , de Andrade Miranda , I P , Mozombite Pinto , L F , Prieto , A , Rudas , A , Ruschel , A R , Silva , N , Vela , C I A , Zent , E L , Zent , S , Cano , A , Carrero Márquez , Y A , Correa , D F , Costa , J B P , Galbraith , D , Holmgren , M , Kalamandeen , M , Lobo , G , Nascimento , M T , Oliveira , A A , Ramirez-Angulo , H , Rocha , M , Scudeller , V V , Sierra , R , Tirado , M , van der Heijden , G , Vilanova Torre , E , Ahuite Reategui , M A , Baider , C , Balslev , H , Cárdenas , S , Casas , L F , Farfan-Rios , W , Ferreira , C , Linares-Palomino , R , Mendoza , C , Mesones , I , Urrego Giraldo , L E , Villarroel , D , Zagt , R , Alexiades , M N , de Oliveira , E A , Garcia-Cabrera , K , Hernandez , L , Palacios Cuenca , W , Pansini , S , Pauletto , D , Ramirez Arevalo , F , Sampaio , A F , Valenzuela Gamarra , L & Aragão , L E O C 2023 , ' More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia ' , Science , vol. 382 , no. 6666 , pp. 103-109 . https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade2541
Publication
Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0036-8075Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is an author produced version of an article accepted for publication in Science. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
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