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Beyond Waters Archaeology and Environmental History of the Amazonian Inland Beyond Waters Archaeology and Environmental History of the Amazonian Inland Edited by Per Stenborg GOTARC Series A Gothenburg Archaeological Studies 6 Beyond Waters Archaeology and Environmental History of the Amazonian Inland Editor Per Stenborg Department of Historical Studies Gothenburg 2016 Beyond Waters Archaeology and Environmental History of the Amazonian Inland GOTARC Series A Vol. 6 Gothenburg 2016 Copyright © The Publisher and the authors under Creaive Commons Atribuion-NonCommer- cial-NoDerivaives 4.0 Internaional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) The Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) License allows the distribuion and reproducion in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. Distribuion 1. Printed book, Hard Cover (ISBN 978-91-85245-60-7): Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg (http://historiskastudier.gu.se): Order by email enquiry to [email protected] 2. E-book (eISBN 978-91-85245-66-6): http://hdl.handle.net/2077/42099 and http://www.cultivat- ed-wilderness.org/ Edited by Per Stenborg Typography and layout by Rich Poter & Per Stenborg Copyediing by Rich Poter Cover by Per Stenborg. Background relief map is based on SRTM data (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 2014). Drawings of Santarém Phase potery by Theresé Törnkvist (VKM Item 25.14.66). Back cover photography from the site of Bom Futuro, by Per Stenborg. The printed ediion was printed in Sweden by Ale Tryckteam AB, Bohus. The publicaion of the printed ediion was inanced by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Swedish Foundaion for Humaniies and Social Sciences). ISSN 1403-8293; ISBN 978-91-85245-66-6 (E-book) Always use this ideniier for ciing this book: htp://hdl.handle.net/2077/42099 Table of Contents Editor’s Preface 5 Per Stenborg Towards a Regional History of Pre-Columbian Settlements in the Santarém and Belterra Regions 9 Per Stenborg Discussing Centre-Periphery Relations within the Tapajó Domain, Lower Amazon 23 Denise P. Schaan Well Builders of the Belterra Plateau, Lower Tapajós: Preliminary Data 37 Joanna Troulard Archaeological Potential in the Flona-Tapajós 47 Camila Guarim Figueiredo Analyses and Digital Modeling of Santarém Artifacts 53 Kjell Denti Gunnarsson & Patrik Castillo Plant Food Consumption and the Origin of Amazonian Dark Earth in the Lower Tapajós Region 61 Daiana Travassos Alves Investigating Amazonian Dark Earths as Agro-Ecosystems and their Impact on the Regional 71 Landscapes of the Lower Amazon José Iriarte Properties of Amazonian Dark Earths at Belterra Plateau, Pará, Brazil 87 Jan Eriksson, Mats Söderström and Christian Isendahl Sensors for Eicient Field Mapping of Amazonian Dark Earths 99 Mats Söderström, Jan Eriksson, Christian Isendahl, Suzana R. Araújo Archaeological Research at Hinterland Sites on the Belterra Plateau, Pará 113 Per Stenborg About the Authors 127 Editor’s Preface Per Stenborg A short introduction to the project “Cultivated Wil- journeys along the Amazon River and several of its derness: Socio-economic development and environ- tributaries, as well as in some inland areas (including mental change in pre-Columbian Amazonia”, and the Belterra Plateau in the Santarém-Belterra to the workshop “Beyond Waters: Archaeology and Region). he Gothenburg Museum partnered Environmental History of the Amazonian Inland”. with Nimuendajú in 1922 (Rydén 2004). his his volume is one of the outcomes of the cooperation should be viewed in light of the fact project “Cultivated Wilderness: Socio-economic that the museum at that time, thanks to Erland development and environmental change in pre- Nordenskiöld’s work, had established itself as an Columbian Amazonia” (see also, Schaan and important institution regarding South American Amaral Lima 2012; Stenborg et al. 2012, 2014; research (Muñoz 2011; Stenborg 2004). Söderström et al. 2013). he project was funded Nimuendajú conducted his work at a time when by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation knowledge of the Amazon region’s archaeology (Grant Number P10-0323:1). he project was was almost nonexistent. he geographic extent of directed by Per Stenborg at the University of the region meant that his works had the character Gothenburg in Sweden, while Denise Pahl Schaan of surveys and inventories. However, the Santarém at Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil functioned area became the part of the Amazon where he as the Brazilian counterpart for the project which conducted most of his research and it is from was made possible thanks to authorizations by the this area that the largest number of objects in the Brazilian authorities CNPq (000852/2011-2) and collections, which today belongs to World Culture IPHAN (01494.000171/2011-78). Museum in Gothenburg, have their provenance. he project was organized in a bilateral/two- Nordenskiöld became particularly interested in way manner; this allowed Brazilian researchers and the material from Santarém; which he also had students to stay in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the opportunity display in the context of the 21st the project’s work with Amazonian material held International Congress of Americanists, arranged by the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg in Gothenburg in 1924. he correspondence while Swedish researchers and students were able to between Nordenskiöld and Nimuendajú shows participate in new archaeological and environmental that the former was unsure about the age of the research in the Santarém and Belterra areas in the Santarém pottery, (later known as Santarém State of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. he team has Phase pottery) expressing the suggestion that it included archaeologists as well as soil scientists. could be the result of contact between Europeans A crucial prerequisite for the advent of the project and the region’s population during the contact was the large collections of archaeological material period (from 1542 A.D.). Nimuendajú, however, (mainly pottery) from the Santarém area that the convincingly argued that the pottery complex Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg (formerly had deinitely emerged before this time (Neves the Gothenburg Ethnographic Museum), holds. In 2004:6; Nimuendajú 2000:73–74, 2004:151– the 1920s, the German-born surveyor and self-made 153). As the results published in this volume researcher Curt Unkel Nimuendajú made extensive shows; the Santarém Phase pottery was generally 5 Per Stenborg associated with a vast expansion of human activity stylistic studies (Schaan), historical information and settlements occurring over the last couple of (Schaan, Stenborg) and digital mediation (Denti centuries prior to European arrival in America Gunnarsson and Castillo). (Schaan, this volume; Stenborg, this volume). he editor expresses his gratitude to Although the precise age of the Santarém material the Cultivated Wilderness crew in Sweden: could not be determined by Nimuendajú, he Archaeologist Imelda Bakunic from the University correctly noted the particular dispersion of this of Gothenburg, Soil Scientists Janne Eriksson and material in the Amazonian inland (Neves 2004). Mats Söderström from the Swedish University of In the last two decades exploitation in Agricultural Sciences and archaeologist Christian the Santarém-Belterra Region has rapidly Isendahl from the University Uppsala, to our advanced. hese exploitations include much Brazilian counterparts and co-workers Denise Pahl needed infrastructural construction works, such Schaan at Universidade Federal do Pará, Márcio as road networks, but also the expansion of Amaral-Lima and Lilian Rebellato at Universidade mechanized agriculture (previously not practiced Federal do Oeste do Pará. Many thanks to all in the region), cattle raising and mining. An the students from both Sweden and Brazil who unfortunate circumstance is that archaeological have generously contributed to the work in sites — often associated with Terra Preta, or Santarém, as well as in Gothenburg, and without Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) — constitutes whom much less would have been accomplished, the most favorable land for the introduction of as well as to the residents of Bom Futuro and mechanized agriculture. As a result the remaining Cedro who participated in, and supported our archaeological sites are damaged through ield work. Special thanks goes to the staf of deforestation, leveling, ploughing, the use of the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, artiicial manure and pesticide, and so forth. among others Jan Amnehäll, Adriana Muñoz and In the original application to the Bank of Farzaneh Bagherzade for granting us access to Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (2010) we their collections, space to analyze the materials, stated our ambition to organize an international as well as for their patience with our sometimes workshop related to the research issues dealt seemingly random presence. hanks also to Mats with in the project. his objective was possible Olvmo at the Department of Earth Sciences at to accomplish through the workshop “Beyond the University of Gothenburg who, despite a busy Waters: Archaeology and Environmental History schedule, helped us to understand some bits of the of the Amazonian inland “ which formed part of geology of the area and to Suzana Araújo at the the IX Sesquiannual Conference of the Society Department of Soil Science, Unversidade de São for the Anthropology of Lowland South America Paulo for analyzing some of our samples as part of (SALSA), held in Gothenburg in June 2014. her dissertation work (Araújo 2013). he presenters and participants at the workshop
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