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Cited by 574Amazonian Archaeology and EthnohistoryArchaeology and ancient environmental studiesSoil and Environmental Studies

The domestication of Amazonia before European conquest

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Clement, Charles R., Denevan, William M., Heckenberger, Michael J., Junqueira, André Braga, Neves, Eduardo G., Teixeira, Wenceslau G., Woods, William I.·2015·Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DOI 10.1098/rspb.2015.0813PMC PMC4528512
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Abstract

During the twentieth century, Amazonia was widely regarded as relatively pristine nature, little impacted by human history. This view remains popular despite mounting evidence of substantial human influence over millennial scales across the region. Here, we review the evidence of an anthropogenic Amazonia in response to claims of sparse populations across broad portions of the region. Amazonia was a major centre of crop domestication, with at least 83 native species containing populations domesticated to some degree. Plant domestication occurs in domesticated landscapes, including highly modified Amazonian dark earths (ADEs) associated with large settled populations and that may cover greater than 0.1% of the region. Populations and food production expanded rapidly within land management systems in the mid-Holocene, and complex societies expanded in resource-rich areas creating domesticated landscapes with profound impacts on local and regional ecology. ADE food production projections support estimates of at least eight million people in 1492. By this time, highly diverse regional systems had developed across Amazonia where subsistence resources were created with plant and landscape domestication, including earthworks. This review argues that the Amazonian anthrome was no less socio-culturally diverse or populous than other tropical forested areas of the world prior to European conquest.

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  • Through diverse ecosystem management practices, humans built thousands of earthworks and 'Amazon Dark Earth' sites, and domesticated plants and landscapes across the Amazon forest.

    “Through diverse ecosystem management practices, humans built thousands of earthworks and ‘Amazon Dark Earth’ sites, and domesticated plants and landscapes across the Amazon forest115,116.”

    From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [116]

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Authors
Clement, C. R., Denevan, W. M., Heckenberger, M. J., Junqueira, A. B., Neves, E. G., Teixeira, W. G., & Woods, W. I.
Affiliations
  • Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (BR)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • University of Florida (US)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Embrapa Solos (BR)
  • University of Kansas (US)
Corresponding author
Clement, Charles R.
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2015-08-07
Volume
282
Issue
1812
Pages
20150813
ISSN
  • 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
  • 0962-8452
  • 1471-2954
DOI
10.1098/rspb.2015.0813
PMC
PMC4528512
OpenAlex
W1906358228
Cited by
574
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 5
FWCI
177.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
Keywords
Amazon basin, crop domestication, Amazonian Dark Earths, plant domestication, land management, earthworks, food production, complex societies
MeSH terms
Archaeology, Humans, Population Density, South America, Ecosystem, Crops, Agricultural

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