Maize monoculture supported pre-Columbian urbanism in southwestern Amazonia
Lombardo, Umberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Hilbert, Lautaro (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Bentley, McKenzie (University of Oxford. School of Archaeology)
Bronk Ramsey, Christopher (University of Oxford. School of Archaeology)
Dudgeon, Kate (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Gaitan-Roca, Albert (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Prehistòria)
Iriarte, Jose (University of Exeter. Department of Archaeology and History)
Mejía Ramón, Andrés G. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Quezada, Sergio
Raczka, Marco (University of Reading. Department of Geography and Environmental Science)
Watling, Jennifer G. (University of São Paulo. Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology)
Neves, Eduardo (University of São Paulo. Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology)
Mayle, Francis (University of Reading. Department of Geography and Environmental Science)

Data:	2025
Resum:	The Casarabe culture (500-1400 ce), spreading over roughly 4,500 km2 of the monumental mounds region of the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia, is one of the clearest examples of urbanism in pre-Columbian (pre-1492 ce) Amazonia. It exhibits a four-tier hierarchical settlement pattern, with hundreds of monumental mounds interconnected by canals and causeways1,2. Despite archaeological evidence indicating that maize was cultivated by this society3, it is unknown whether it was the staple crop and which type of agricultural farming system was used to support this urban-scale society. Here, we address this issue by integration of remote sensing, field survey and microbotanical analyses, which shows that the Casarabe culture invested heavily in landscape engineering, constructing a complex system of drainage canals (to drain excess water during the rainy season) and newly documented savannah farm ponds (to retain water in the dry season). Phytolith analyses of 178 samples from 18 soil profiles in drained fields, farm ponds and forested settings record the singular and ubiquitous presence of maize (Zea mays) in pre-Columbian fields and farm ponds, and an absence of evidence for agricultural practices in the forest. Collectively, our findings show how the Casarabe culture managed the savannah landscape for intensive year-round maize monoculture that probably sustained its relatively large population. Our results have implications for how we conceive agricultural systems in Amazonia, and show an example of a Neolithic-like, grain-based agrarian economy in the Amazon.
Ajuts:	European Commission 101043738 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00527
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Archaeology ; Ecology ; SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
Publicat a:	Nature, Vol. 639 (January 2025) , p. 119-123, ISSN 1476-4687

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08473-y
PMID: 39880950

20 p, 17.1 MB

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