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dc.contributor.advisorWoods, William I.
dc.contributor.authorRebellato, Lilian
dc.date.accessioned2012-11-19T22:16:49Z
dc.date.available2012-11-19T22:16:49Z
dc.date.issued2011-12-31
dc.date.submitted2011
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11874
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/10383
dc.description.abstractThis investigation derives from research conducted over several years and contributes to the understanding of the differential occupational dynamics and use of space in pre-Colonial Amazonia. The goal of this study is to use traditional chemical and physical soil analytical methods to understand the archaeological site formation processes in the study area. Many of the sites in Amazonia have terra preta and terra mulata anthropogenic soils, that is, soils that are highly fertile and resilient, with elevated concentrations of pottery, charcoal, burials, and lithic and faunal remains. Because these soils have high pH values, the organic materials are well preserved for a tropical forest context. Testing a hypothesis about the use of these soils for food production during the pre-Colonial period was the main goal of this geoarchaeological research; the chronologies of occupation as well the size, shape and permanence of the villages during the pre-Colonial period are also included. The results show that the last occupational group - associated with the Guarita subtradition that occupied the site around 900 AD - discovered the fertile properties of these soils and reorganized them in order to improve their crop production. The evidence for this conclusion comes from chemical and physical analysis of the soils, which revealed a greater concentration of carbon (C) in the surface stratum of the site, while the amount of phosphorus (P) decreases with depth in that stratum. Moreover, a great and rapid spread of terra preta in the site surface corroborates these findings. Therefore, I deduce that a population around 900 AD introduced a different way to use the land; they farmed larger field areas for food production, decreasing the amount of P in the soil, because it was available for plants, but not of C, because carbon is mainly concentrated in black charcoal and is thus not available for plants. Slash-and-burn agriculture was the human action responsible for generating the black charcoal, and was used to increase soil fertility during crop production. The apparent change in land-use by the last group that occupied the site is related to the Amazon Polychromic Tradition (APT) that is associated with the Tupi expansion.
dc.format.extent208 pages
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Kansas
dc.rightsThis item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
dc.subjectArchaeology
dc.subjectGeography
dc.subjectAbandoned settlements
dc.subjectAmazonian archaeology
dc.subjectAmazonian dark earths
dc.subjectAnthropic soils
dc.subjectGeoarchaeology
dc.subjectSoil signatures
dc.titleAmazonian Dark Earths: a case study in the Central Amazon
dc.typeDissertation
dc.contributor.cmtememberEgbert, Stephen L.
dc.contributor.cmtememberHerlihy, Peter H.
dc.contributor.cmtememberMandel, Rolfe D
dc.contributor.cmtememberRadovanovic, Ivana
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineGeography
dc.thesis.degreeLevelPh.D.
kusw.oastatusna
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0136-0265
kusw.oapolicyThis item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria.
kusw.bibid7643165
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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