Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia

The long term response of ancient societies to climate change has been a matter of global debate. Until recently, the lack of integrative studies between archaeological, palaeoecological, and palaeoclimatological data had prevented an evaluation of the relationship between climate change, distinct subsistence strategies, and cultural transformations across the largest rainforest of the world, Amazonia. Here, we review the most relevant cultural changes seen in the archaeological record of six different regions within Greater Amazonia during late pre-Columbian times. We compare the chronology of those cultural transitions with high-resolution regional palaeoclimate proxies, showing that, while some societies faced major reorganisation during periods of climate change, others were unaffected and even flourished. We propose that societies with intensive, specialised land-use systems were vulnerable to transient climate change. In contrast, land-use systems that relied primarily on polyculture agroforestry, resulting in the formation of enriched forests and fertile Amazonian Dark Earths in the long term, were more resilient to climate change

Anaconda es una palabra amazónica

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Archéologie de la haute Amazonie équatorienne

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Cinq petits tapirs : les Guyanes amérindiennes d’avant 1499

Atteignant près de 2 millions de km2, la Guyane constitue une entité tant géographique que culturelle. Toutefois, si l'on peut parler d'une spécificité du monde amérindien à l'époque précolombienne, chaque époque et chaque région connut des développements particuliers. Cinq étapes principales sont ainsi distinguées durant la préhistoire guyanaise qui débute il y a 10 000 ans pour s'achever avec la conquête européenne il y a 500 ans. Des milieux très divers furent successivement ou simultanément occupés par des chasseurs-cueilleurs, des pêcheurs-collecteurs, des horticulteurs ou des sociétés agricoles complexes.Atingindo quase 2 milhões de km2, a Guiana constitue uma entidade tanto geográfica quanto cultural. No entanto, se podemos falar de uma especificidade do mundo ameríndio na época précolombiana, cada época e cada região conheceu desenvolvimentos distintos. Cinco etapas principais são assim diferenciadas durante a pré-história da Guiana que começa a 10000 anos atrás e termina com a conquista européia a 500 anos atrás. Diferentes meios foram sucessivamente ou simultâneamente ocupados pelos caçadores, pescadores, horticultores ou por sociedades agrícolas complexas.On almost two millions of square kilometers, Guyana forms a geografical and cultural identity. But, if we can talk about the specificity of a precolombian amerindian world, each period and each region has known particular developments. Five principal steps have been identified during the Guyanase prehistory which starts 10000 years ago to end with the european conquest 500 years ago

Introduction. Ouvrir les frontières disciplinaires ou l’édification d’une sociologie générale

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Trazos arqueológicos del Ecuador/Tracés archéologiques d’Équateur

International audience"Detalle de una serie de bocetos e ilustraciones sobre representaciones de figuras y decoraciones arqueológicas de las diferentes culturas prehispanicas desarrolladas en las costas del Ecuador. Incluye un breve historia de los períodos cerámicos aborígenes del Ecuador.

Introduction. Ouvrir les frontières disciplinaires ou l’édification d’une sociologie générale

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De l’ethnologie à la préhistoire

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Caribbean and circum-Caribbean farmers: an introduction

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