Luminescence dates for the Paleoindian site of Pedra Pintada, Brazil

International audienceDates are presented for the Paleoindian levels of Pedra Pintada cave in Brazil, based on the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) study of ten specimens of heated siliceous stones and three of sand, respectively. Also discussed are the details of preliminary mineralogical, radiographic, and analytical work done on the lithic specimens in France and the OSL work done on the sediments in the US. The luminescence dates are in agreement with radiocarbon dates for the same strata

Anthropogenic influence on Amazonian forests in pre-history: An ecological perspective

An important debate has been re-invigorated by new data concerning the size and environmental impacts of human populations in the Amazon Basin during pre-history. Here, we review the history of debates concerning pre-historic human occupation of the Amazon Basin along with the presentation of empirical data from archaeological and palaeoecological research. The combined evidence suggests that human occupation and resulting influence on Amazonian ecosystems were heterogeneous on both regional and local scales. Pre-historic occupation sites are more likely to have been located in forests with a pronounced dry season or in forests that are within 15 km of a river floodplain, rather than in ever-wet forests or in interfluvial regions far removed from large rivers. Forest enrichment of preferred species and game depletion through hunting are most probable within 15 km of an occupation site. Given the spatial and temporal patterning of these data, views of significant Amazonian-wide cultural impacts on riverine and interfluvial forest are not supported at this time

Holocene fire and occupation in Amazonia: records from two lake districts

While large-scale pre-Columbian human occupation and ecological disturbance have been demonstrated close to major Amazonian waterways, less is known of sites in terra firme settings. Palaeoecological analyses of two lake districts in central and western Amazonia reveal long histories of occupation and land use. At both locations, human activity was centred on one of the lakes, while the others were either lightly used or unused. These analyses indicate that the scale of human impacts in these terra firme settings is localized and probably strongly influenced by the presence of a permanent open-water body. Evidence is found of forest clearance and cultivation of maize and manioc. These data are directly relevant to the resilience of Amazonian conservation, as they do not support the contention that all of Amazonia is a ‘built landscape’ and therefore a product of past human land use