Illustrated Catalogue of Contemporary Phytoliths for Archaeology and Paleoecology: I. Amazonian Grasses of Colombia

ilustraciones, fotografías, mapasEsta obra sobre los fitolitos de las gramíneas amazónicas de Colombia está estructurada a manera de catálogo ilustrado, correspondientes a 143 especies clave de diferentes ambientes amazónicos; posee numerosas micro- fotografías acompañadas de textos descriptivos e informaciones variadas para cada una de las especies tratadas. Esperamos que sea un referente en la investigación, toda vez que se enmarca en un contexto arqueológico y paleoambiental, áreas del conocimiento que cada vez cobran más relevancia en virtud a la necesidad cada vez más urgente de inventariar la biodiversidad y su acervo histórico. (texto tomado de la fuente).Presentación (Foreward) -- Introducción (Introduction) -- Características de las gramíneas (Characteristcs of grasses) -- Las vías fotosintéticas C3 y C4 en las gramíneas (C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways in grasses) -- Importancia de las gramíneas (The Importance of grasses) -- Historia del estudio de las gramíneas en Colombia (History of the study of grasses in Colombia) -- Historia del estudio de fitolitos en Colombia (History of the study of phytoliths in Colombia) -- Importancia de los fitolitos en la arqueología y la paleoecología de la Amazonia (Importance of phytoliths in archaeology and paleoecology of the Amazon) -- Materiales y métodos (Materials and Methods) -- Géneros seleccionados (Genera sampled in this study) -- Acroceras zizanioides (Kunth) Dandy -- Andropogon bicornis L. -- Andropogon leucostachyus Kunth -- Anthaenantia lanata (Kunth) Benth. -- Aristida capillacea Lam -- Aristida longifolia Trin -- Aristida riparia Trin -- Aristida torta (Nees) Kunth -- Arthropogon sorengii Gir.-Cañas -- Arthrostylidium sp. -- Axonopus aureus P. Beauv -- Axonopus compressus (Sw.) P. Beauv. -- Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm -- Axonopus leptostachyus (Flüggé) Hitchc. -- Axonopus morronei Gir.-Cañas -- Axonopus purpusii (Mez) Chase -- Axonopus schultesii G. A. Black -- Axonopus scoparius (Flüggé) Kuhlm. -- Cenchrus polystachios (L.) Morrone -- Cenchrus polystachios (L.) Morrone -- Chloris ciliata Sw -- Chloris dandyana C.D. Adams -- Chloris inflata Link -- Chloris radiata (L.) Sw -- Coix lacryma-jobi L -- Coleataenia carioides (Nees ex Trin.) Soreng -- Cryptochloa unispiculata Soderstr -- Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. -- Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. -- Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst -- Digitaria bicornis (Lam.) Roem. & Schult.-- Digitaria ciliaris (Rezt.) Koeler -- Digitaria fuscescens (J. Presl) Henrard -- Digitaria horizontalis Willd -- Digitaria insularis (L.) Fedde -- Echinochloa colona (L.) Link -- Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitchc -- Echinolaena inflexa (Poir). Chase -- Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn -- Eragrostis acutiflora (Kunth) Nees -- Eragrostis atrovirens (Desf.) Trin. ex Steud. -- Eragrostis bahiensis Schrad. ex Schult. -- Eragrostis ciliaris (L.) R. Br. -- Eragrostis gangetica (Roxb.) Steud. -- Eragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb -- Eragrostis japonica (Thunb.) Trin -- Eragrostis maypurensis (Kunth) Steud. -- Eragrostis pectinacea (Michx.) Nees -- Eragrostis pilosa (L.) P. Beauv -- Eragrostis tenella (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult. -- Eragrostis tenuifolia (A. Rich.) Hochst. ex Steud -- Eriochloa punctata (L.) Desv. Ex Ham -- Guadua angustifolia Kunth -- Guadua angustifolia Kunth -- Guadua glomerata Munro -- Guadua macrospiculata Londoño & L.G. Clark -- Guadua superba Huber -- Guadua venezuelae Munro -- Guadua weberbaueri Pilg. -- Gynerium sagittatum (Aubl.) P. Beauv. -- Homolepis aturensis (Kunth) Chase -- Homolepis glutinosa (Sw.) Zuloaga & Soderstr. -- Hymenachne amplexicaulis (Rudge) Nees. -- Hymenachne donacifolia (Raddi) Chase -- Ichnanthus breviscrobs Döll -- Ichnanthus calvescens (Nees ex Trin.) Döll -- Ichnanthus pallens (Sw.) Munro ex Benth -- Ichnanthus panicoides P. Beauv. -- Ichnanthus tenuis (J. Presl & C. Presl) Hitchc. & Chase -- Ichnanthus sp.-- Lasiacis ligulata Hitchc. & Chase -- Lasiacis procerrima (Hack.) Hitchc -- Lasiacis procerrima (Hack.) Hitchc -- Lasiacis ruscifolia (Kunth) Hitchc. -- Lasiacis scabrior Hitchc. -- Lasiacis sloanei (Griseb.) Hitchc. -- Lasiacis sorghoidea (Desv. ex Ham.) Hitchc. & Chase --Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi -- Leptochloa panicoides (J. Presl) Hitchc. -- Leptochloa scabra Nees -- Leptochloa virgata (L.) P. Beauv. -- Megathyrsus maximus (Jacq.) B. K. Simon & S.W.L. Jacobs -- Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. -- Melinis repens (Willd.) Zizka -- Mesosetum loliiforme (Hochst. ex Steud.) Chase -- Ocellochloa pulchella (Raddi) Zuloaga & Morrone-- Ocellochloa stolonifera (Poir.) Zuloaga & Morrone -- Olyra latifololia L. -- Oplismenus burmannii (Retz.) P. Beauv -- Oplismenus hirtellus (L.) P. Beauv -- Orthoclada laxa (Rich.) P. Beauv. -- Oryza sativa L. -- Otachyrium versicolor (Döll) Henrard -- Panicum cayennense Lam. -- Panicum cyanescens Nees ex Trin -- Panicum dichotomiflorum Michx. -- Panicum elephantipes Nees ex Trin. -- Panicum hirtum Lam. -- Panicum nervosum Lam. -- Panicum olyroides Kunth -- Panicum orinocanum Luces -- Panicum parvifolium Lam. -- Panicum pilosum Sw. -- Panicum pilosum Sw. -- Panicum polycomum Trin. -- Panicum polygonatum Schrad. -- Panicum pyrularium Hitchc. & Chase -- Panicum rudgei Roem. & Schult. -- Panicum trichanthum Nees -- Panicum trichoides Sw. -- Panicum tricholaenoides Steud. -- Pariana campestris Aubl. -- Pariana radiciflora Sagot ex Döll -- Paspalum carinatum Humb. & Bonpl. ex Flüggé -- Paspalum conjugatum P.J. Bergius -- Paspalum conjugatum P.J. Bergius -- Paspalum decumbens Sw. -- Paspalum fasciculatum Willd. ex Flüggé -- Paspalum fasciculatum Willd. ex Flüggé -- Paspalum foliiforme S. Denham.--Paspalum geminiflorum Steud.-- Paspalum hyalinum Nees ex Trin. -- Paspalum intermedium Munro ex Morong & Britton -- Paspalum lanciflorum PTrin. -- Paspalum laxum Lam. -- Paspalum melanospermum Desv. ex Poir. -- Paspalum minus E. Fourn. -- Paspalum notatum Flüggé -- Paspalum orbiculatum Poir. -- Paspalum pulchellum Kunth -- Paspalum repens P.J. Bergius -- Paspalum trinitense (Mez) S. Denham -- Paspalum virgatum L.-- Pharus latifolius L. -- Pharus virescens Döll. -- Piresia goeldii Swallen -- Piresia sympodica (Döll) Swallen -- Raddiella esenbeckii (Steud.) Calderón & Soderstrou -- Reimarochloa acuta (Flüggé) Hitchc -- Saccharum officinarum L. -- Saccharum officinarum L. -- Saccharum officinarum L. -- Setaria parviflora (Poir.) Kerguélen -- Setaria sulcata Raddi -- Setaria vulpiseta (Lam.) Roem. & Schult. -- Sorghastrum setosum (Griseb.) Hitchc. -- Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. --Sporobolus cubensis Hitchc. --Sporobolus jacquemontii Kunth -- Sporobolus tenuissimus (Mart. ex Schrank) Kuntze -- Steinchisma laxa (Sw.) Zuloaga -- Steinchisma laxa (Sw.) Zuloaga -- Stephostachys mertensii (Roth) Zuloaga & Morrone -- Streptogyna americana C.E. Hubb. -- Trachypogon vestitus Andersson -- Tripsacum australe H.C. Cutler & E.S. Anderson -- Urochloa mutica (Forssk.) T.Q. Nguyen -- Zea mays L. -- 266 Zea mays L.-- 267 Zea mays L.-- Zea mays L.-- Zea mays L. -- Zea mays L. -- Zea mays L.-- Zea mays L.-- Anexo (Appendix) --Literatura Citada (Literature Cited)Primera edició

Ice Age megafauna rock art in the Colombian Amazon?

Megafauna paintings have accompanied the earliest archaeological contexts across the continents, revealing a fundamental inter-relationship between early humans and megafauna during the global human expansion as unfamiliar landscapes were humanized and identities built into new territories. However, the identification of extinct megafauna from rock art is controversial. Here, we examine potential megafauna depictions in the rock art of Serranía de la Lindosa, Colombian Amazon, that includes a giant sloth, a gomphothere, a camelid, horses and three-toed ungulates with trunks. We argue that they are Ice Age rock art based on the (i) naturalistic appearance and diagnostic morphological features of the animal images, (ii) late Pleistocene archaeological dates from La Lindosa confirming the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, (iii) recovery of ochre pigments in late Pleistocene archaeological strata, (iv) the presence of most megafauna identified in the region during the late Pleistocene as attested by archaeological and palaeontological records, and (v) widespread depiction of extinct megafauna in rock art across the Americas. Our findings contribute to the emerging picture of considerable geographical and stylistic variation of geometric and figurative rock art from early human occupations across South America. Lastly, we discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the early human history of tropical South America. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.1. Introduction 2. Early rock art in the Americas, study region and brief archaeological background 3. The La Lindosa rock art 4. The megafauna paintings (a) Giant ground sloth (Megatheriidae) (b) Proboscidean (Gomphotheriidae) (c) Horse (Equidae) (d) Camelid (Camelidae) (e) Macraucheniid (Macraucheniidae) 5. Concluding remark

Las palmas entre los grupos cazadores-recolectores de la amazonia colombiana

We compare past and present systems of management of palms in the Colombian Amazon, based on archaeological studies of preceramic groups in the middle Caquetá region and ethnographic research on the nomadic Nukak people, who inhabit northeastern Guaviare department. Astrocaryum aculeatum, Attalea maripe, Mauritia flexuosa, Oenocarpus bataua, Oenocarpus bacaba y Oenocarpus mapora, have been used from the early Holocene through the present time. Among these, Oenocarpus bataua has remained the most important food species. We conclude that one of the mananging strategies of the tropical rain forest is the simultaneous improvement of ecological units, especially in the tertiary sedimentary plains, and that such management probably has a long history in the region.Se presenta una comparación sobre el manejo de las palmas en la Amazonia Colombiana, basado en los resultados de un estudio arqueológico de grupos precerámicos en la región del Medio Caquetá y uno etnográfico del pueblo nómada Nukak que habita la zona nororiental del departamento del Guaviare. Se encontró que Astrocaryum aculeatum, A ttalea maripa, Mauritia flexuosa, Oenocarpus bataua, Oenocarpus bacaba y Oenocarpus mapora son algunas de las palmas usadas desde el Holoceno temprano hasta el presente. Entre estas Oenocarpus bataua es la especie más importante como fuente de alimento. Así mismo, se concluye que una de las estrategias de manejo en el bosque húmedo tropical es el aprovechamiento simultáneo de diferentes unidades ecológicas, con predominio del plano sedimentario terciario. Es probable que este tipo de manejo tenga en la región una larga historia

Impact of pre-Columbian 'geoglyph' builders on Amazonian forests

Over 450 pre-Columbian (pre-AD1492) geometric ditched enclosures ('geoglyphs') occupy ca. 13,000 km2 of Acre state, Brazil, representing a key discovery of Amazonian archaeology. These huge earthworks were concealed for centuries under terra firme (upland interfluvial) rainforest, directly challenging the 'pristine' status of this ecosystem and its perceived vulnerability to human impacts. We reconstruct the environmental context of geoglyph construction and the nature, extent and legacy of associated human impacts. We show that bamboo forest dominated the region for ≥6000 y and that only small, temporary clearings were made to build the geoglyphs; however, construction occurred within anthropogenic forest that had been actively managed for millennia. In the absence of widespread deforestation, exploitation of forest products shaped a largely forested landscape that survived intact until the late 20th century

The Amazonian Formative: Crop Domestication and Anthropogenic Soils

The emergence of sedentism and agriculture in Amazonia continues to sit uncomfortably within accounts of South American pre-Columbian history. This is partially because deep-seated models were formulated when only ceramic evidence was known, partly because newer data continue to defy simple explanations, and partially because many discussions continue to ignore evidence of pre-Columbian anthropogenic landscape transformations. This paper presents the results of recent geoarchaeological research on Amazonian anthropogenic soils. It advances the argument that properties of two different types of soils, terras pretas and terras mulatas, support their interpretation as correlates of, respectively, past settlement areas and fields where spatially-intensive, organic amendment-reliant cultivation took place. This assessment identifies anthropogenic soil formation as a hallmark of the Amazonian Formative and prompts questions about when similar forms of enrichment first appear in the Amazon basin. The paper reviews evidence for embryonic anthrosol formation to highlight its significance for understanding the domestication of a key Amazonian crop: manioc (Manihot esculenta ssp. esculenta). A model for manioc domestication that incorporates anthropogenic soils outlines some scenarios which link the distribution of its two broader varieties—sweet and bitter manioc—with the widespread appearance of Amazonian anthropogenic dark earths during the first millennium AD

Evidence confirms an anthropic origin of Amazonian Dark Earths

Archaeology of the America

Evidence confirms an anthropic origin of Amazonian Dark Earths.

Arising from: Silva et al. Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20184-2 (2021

Subsistencia y manejo de ecosistemas a través del estudio de fitolitos, polen y semillas en grupos humanos precolombinos del área interfluvial de los ríos putumayo (iça) y amazonas (colombia-brasil)

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Tumbas y plantas antiguas del suroccidente colombiano

Desde la arqueobotánica se presenta la identificación taxonómica e interpretación arqueológica de vestigios botánicos contenidos en un sarcófago de madera datado entre 700 A.P. y 1310 A.P., procedente de una tumba del período Sonso, en la región Calima del suroccidente colombiano. Entre las especies identificadas asociadas a cultivos y frutales, utilizadas como ofrenda funeraria, se encuentran semillas de algodón, achiote, maíz, fríjol común, ají, guayaba y granadilla. Otro conjunto de plantas (hierbas) presentes en este contexto funerario, pero esta vez asociadas a elementos propios del conjunto mortuorio, son hojas de musgo y fragmentos de tallo de guadua o bambú