Anthropic soils in the upper Ecuadorian Amazon?: Geo-archaeological studies in the dumpsite of La Lomita, Upano valley, Morona Santiago, Ecuador

Abstract

The archaeological research in recent decades has developed important contributions to
understanding the emergence of complex societies in Amazon rainforest ecosystems, specifically
in the upper Upano basin of the High-Amazonia in Ecuador, an extensive area in the peri-Andean
foothills modified by artificial earth mounds organized in complex patterns of settlements. These
constructive processes started around 380 B.C., giving place to almost a millennium of occupation
characterized by the presence of Upano ceramic tradition. The concentration of earth mounds
brings up questions about the impacts of human occupation in Amazonian landscapes and the need
to include analytic methods to obtain new information. This work brings to the debate about
anthropic soils a case study in the Ecuadorian Amazon, applying chemical analysis to soil samples
from Basural La Lomita, belonging to the Huapula Monticular Complex in the upper Upano basin,
for characterization and comparative analysis. The results obtained point to the impacts of human
occupation on the soils of the Upano earth mound settlements, and the potential to understand the
prolonged modification of the Amazonian landscapes in pre-Columbian times.