O. Torrico/WCS-Bolivia
Elevated growing platforms near Lake Ginebra.
An entire earthen architecture emerged beneath tall grasses and shallow waters. Seen from the air, it can be seen that geometric shapes controlled floods, guided the flow of water and created stable areas for housing and agriculture in an environment that changes radically throughout the year.
Without destroying ecosystems, indigenous societies in the Bolivian Amazon transformed swamps into highly productive territories for centuries.
The discovery is recent and occurred in one of the least documented areas of the Bolivian Amazon, in the Great Tectonic Lakes of Exaltación. In September 2021, an expedition took experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the National Museum of Natural History, the Institute of Ecology, research centers on biodiversity and aquatic resources and the University of Bonn to Lakes Rogaguado and Ginebra, in the southwestern Amazon.
At first glance, the landscape is made up of savannas, gallery forests and flooded plains. But beneath the tall grasses and shallow waters lies a true earth architecturebuilt over many generations, researchers point out to .
Based on field surveys, archaeological excavations and LiDAR technology, scientists have mapped several sites (Paquío, Coquinal, Isla del Tesoro and Jasschaja) that document a long sequence of human occupation between ca. 600 e 1400 d.C.
In Paquío, radiocarbon data point to an initial settlement around 600 AD, followed by a more intense phase between 1000 and 1200 AD, marked by large accumulations of pottery, shells and an intricate system of raised fields and canals associated with corn cultivation. Jasschaja, dated between 1300 and 1400 AD, reveals even deeper transformations in the landscape and greater botanical diversity, evidence of active management of forests and agricultural crops.
Seen from the air, the Llanos de Moxos region is marked by geometric shapes: circular and rectangular ditches, drainage channels, raised planting platforms and sets of mounds. The mosaic of structures was designed to control seasonal flooding, guide water flow and create stable areas for housing and agriculture in an environment that changes radically throughout the year.
The variety of shapes and sizes shows that there was no single model; rather, communities have been adjusting and experimenting with solutions over centuries in response to changing ecological and social conditions.
How these communities lived
Excavations revealed a way of life based on a diversity of resources. Fauna remains indicate a predominant consumption of fishcomplemented by reptiles (alligators and turtles) and mammals such as capybaras, pacas and armadillos. Seeds and other plant remains show the use of corn, legumes and several species of palm trees.
The whole points to a mixed economy which combined fishing, hunting, fruit gathering and agriculture, reducing risks and increasing resilience, points out the study in Frontiers.
Currently, people Cayuba e Movima continue to inhabit these territories, where biodiversity is closely linked to cultural practices. The area is part of the Municipal Protected Zone of the Great Tectonic Lakes of Exaltación and the Ramsar wetland complex of the Yata River, recognized by UNESCO for its ecological and cultural value.
