Amazonian mounds. When Human sciences met Earth sciences

Summary

Because the subject of the archaeological study disappears nowadays and exists only as traces, it is necessary to diversify the points of view to comprehend the past. The interdisciplinary approach helps to interpret better the human and natural components of the environment. On the basis of two Amazonian cases, from French Guiana and from Ecuador, it will be shown how cooperation between various disciplines improves considerably the interpretation.

The first case concerns thousands of small mounds found along the Guianas coast. They are remnants of an agricultural technique widely used in flooded areas during the late pre-Columbian Period. The Guianas coast has a long history of human impact and the actual landscape partially results of a millenary cultural action. The multiplicity of expertise completed successfully to a general understanding of these structures.

In the Upper Amazon, the Sangay site of the Upano Valley is famous for hundreds of artificial mounds. More to the north, on the Pastaza bank, the Zulay site presents various small hills that were also commonly considered human-made. It is true that pre-Columbian communities lived sometimes on their top, but our recent interdisciplinary project proved their natural origin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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