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Rainforest Researchers Hit Paydirt (Farming 11K Years Ago in South America)
University Of Vermont ^
| 8-29-2002
| Lynda Majarian
Posted on 08/30/2002 10:11:59 AM PDT by blam
Contact: Lynda Majarian
lynda.majarian@uvm.edu
802-656-1107
University of Vermont
Rainforest researchers hit pay dirt
It shouldn't be there, but it is. Deep in the central Amazonian rainforest lies a rich, black soil known locally as terra preta do Indio (Indian dark earth) that farmers have worked for years with minimal fertilization. A Brazilian-American archeological team believed terra preta, which may cover 10 percent of Amazonia, was the product of intense habitation by Amerindian populations who flourished in the area for two millennia, but they recently unearthed evidence that societies lived and farmed in the area up to 11,000 years ago.
As reported in the August 9 issue of the journal Science, such long-lasting fertility is an anomaly in the tropics, where punishing conditions make the land highly acidic, low in organic matter and essential nutrients, and nearly incapable of sustaining life.
In 1994, James Petersen, associate professor and chair of anthropology at the University of Vermont, and Michael Heckenberger, now at the University of Florida, investigated their first terra preta deposit on a riverbank near Açutuba. The three-kilometer site was thick with broken pieces of ceramic, relics of a large, ancient society. To date, they and fellow researchers have excavated four sites and explored 30 others near the junction of the Amazon and Rio Negro.
What researchers find most remarkable is that instead of destroying the soil, the indigenous inhabitants improved it - something ecologists don't know how to do today. Although the project is in its early stages, modern scientists hope to learn the principles behind terra preta. The ability to reproduce the super-fertile soil could have broad impact, making it possible to sustain intensive agriculture in the Amazon and other hot regions.
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agriculture; amazon; amazonia; animalhusbandry; annaroosevelt; archaeology; brazil; dietandcuisine; dirt; domestication; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; history; huntergatherers; pay; preclovis; precolumbianamazon; rainforest; researchers; sahara; slashandburn; terrapreta
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To: #3Fan
"If the Indians had ships, they would have been just as developed as us, it appears." They were forced to be excellent farmers because they did not have the large land mammals like Africa, Europe and Asia to eat. Greater than 50% of today's worldwide food crops were developed in the Americas by these people.
The lack of large mammals is why they had no need for the wheel.
41
posted on
09/05/2002 6:39:04 AM PDT
by
blam
To: blam
The lack of large mammals is why they had no need for the wheel.Grain needs hauled too. :^)
42
posted on
09/05/2002 1:05:29 PM PDT
by
#3Fan
To: #3Fan
Saturday night bump.
43
posted on
10/19/2002 5:52:22 PM PDT
by
blam
To: blam
The first Spanish explorers who sailed down the Amazon from Peru reported that the riverbanks were densely populated and under intense cultivation. I suspect European diseases caused the collapse of these societies and the floodings of the River washed away the structures.
To: Eternal_Bear
"The first Spanish explorers who sailed down the Amazon from Peru reported that the riverbanks were densely populated and under intense cultivation. I suspect European diseases caused the collapse of these societies and the floodings of the River washed away the structures." Yup. The Amazon River was named after the female warriors (Amazons) seen on the banks of the river.
Furthermore, hundreds of miles of canals and raised fields are still visible from the air. It is estimated that when the 'modern' Europeans discovered South America, there were more humans living in SA than all of Europe. Teotechuan(sp) was larger than London.
45
posted on
10/19/2002 6:09:42 PM PDT
by
blam
To: ET(end tyranny); FreeLibertarian; Bohemund; Seeking the truth; FreetheSouth!; Marie Antoinette; ...
Ping for a good one.
46
posted on
10/19/2002 6:33:28 PM PDT
by
blam
To: blam
Thanks ...
47
posted on
10/19/2002 7:23:52 PM PDT
by
manna
To: blam
Thanks
To: blam
Thanks for the ping. I just spent 2 hours getting lost in the links and bookmarking.
To: the-ironically-named-proverbs2
"I just spent 2 hours getting lost in the links and bookmarking." LOL. Happens to me all the time.
50
posted on
10/20/2002 8:20:27 AM PDT
by
blam
To: blam
A belated thanks for the ping. Another one getting lost in the links :)
To: crystalk
TIN FOIL HAT ALERT!
"Just as farming was practiced briefly in Egypt some 11000 years ago to feed those building the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid..."
The great pyramid was built circa 2300 BC. There was no agriculture, and no pyrmids, 11000 years ago.
52
posted on
10/19/2003 6:07:14 AM PDT
by
Renfield
To: blam
Yes. Typically, in tropical rainforest soils there is a thin layer of partially decomposed organic material right at the soil surface, and all of the soil's fertility is contained therein. The mineral portion of the soil below this organic layer is composed largely of minerals highly resistant to weathering; mostly amorphous hydrated oxides and hydroxides of aluminum and iron (Gibbsite, Goerthite, etc). There is virtually no fertility in these minerals. I find the story posted here to be highly suspect. There is, however, a type of soil, naturally occuring, that these people might be referring to. Vertisols are soils composed principally of 2:1 expanding clays such as Montmorillonite. These clays expand as they absorb water when they are wet, and contract and crack when they dry. Organic material is incorporated into the soil by falling into the cracks, and thus these clays appear dark. Montmorillonitic soils have a high cation-exchange capacity (the ability to retain, and slowly release, plant nutrient cations such as Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, etc), and are generally relatively fertile. These are widespread, though not abundant, in some tropical and temperate regions of the globe, usually in regions that have short rainy seasons followed by long dry seasons. They normally are NOT found in rainforest (humid or perhumid tropical) areas, because the rates of weathering are too high to sustain these minerals for long periods. These people need to have their site examined by competent soil scientists.
53
posted on
10/19/2003 6:20:47 AM PDT
by
Renfield
To: Renfield
54
posted on
10/19/2003 9:39:45 AM PDT
by
blam
To: farmfriend
FYI...already in GGG files.
55
posted on
12/10/2003 1:17:01 PM PST
by
blam
To: blam
You know that thing only holds so many. After that one drops for everyone you add. Or something like that.
56
posted on
12/10/2003 1:43:47 PM PST
by
farmfriend
( Isaiah 55:10,11)
To: Renfield
Soil scientists from around the globe and renewable hydrogen researchers are discovering that these soils (which have extensive published work in the past few years) are pointing to a solution for carbon buildup and for sustainable agriculture. It is hard to believe, but not really when you know what thay did. Charcoal is an adsorbent and is used for poisoning victims. Centuries ago the indigeneous population of the Amazon learned that charcoal applied (or invested) to their soil gave them a tremendous increase of crop productivity. There are sites around the web that are exploring what this means.
Terra Preta at Cornell Univ. or do a search on terra prata. Most of the links are hard science stuff but one is a R&D site.
Eprida with a conference link
Conference
57
posted on
03/05/2004 9:02:23 AM PST
by
oldbones
(Sustainable soil fertility + renewable hydrogen = terra preta soils)
To: blam
Agriculture has been developed in several different centers. The Middle-East is only one of the centers, and it's not the oldest!
58
posted on
05/30/2004 6:38:57 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
To: RightWhale
Dunno. Beer and bread sound like good reasons to civilize.
59
posted on
11/01/2004 6:17:58 AM PST
by
Little Ray
(John Ffing sKerry: Just a gigolo!)
Just a post with the updated contact info. Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
60
posted on
12/02/2004 12:07:37 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
("All I have seen teaches me trust the Creator for all I have not seen." -- Emerson)
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