Arqueoastronomy and built landscape: the spatial orientation of geometric enclosures in Western Amazonia

Summary

Geometric enclosures found over a 400 sq. km area in Western Amazonia were built in patterned ways that involved depth, width, and morphology of monumental ditches excavated in a clay soil matrix. Pattern eventually included care for solar orientation. A study of 419 geometric enclosures showed that around 60% of them were clearly oriented according to the sun’s trajectory and its maximum distance from the Ecuador, e.g. the solstice. One of the working hypotheses is that the agricultural calendar guided yearly festivities, therefore the geometric enclosures were mostly used for ritual activities. This research shows new interpretive possibilities for the study of such sites which functionality remains not completely understood.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Multidisciplinary Approaches to Amazonian landscapes

Keywords

Spatial Coverage