Landscape-scale spatial variations of pre-Columbian anthropogenic disturbances at three ring ditch sites in French Guiana

TL;DR

This study explores how pre-Columbian societies in French Guiana altered landscapes over centuries using earthworks and fire management.

Contribution

The study introduces new insights into pre-Columbian anthropogenic soil disturbances and challenges the Amazonian Dark Earths paradigm.

Findings

Pre-Columbian societies occupied ring ditch sites from the 5th to 15th centuries CE.

Soil enrichments in Corg, N, Mg, K, and Ca suggest long-term human impact.

Amazonian Brown Earths should be integrated into anthropogenic soil definitions.

Abstract

In the past two decades, repeated discoveries of numerous geometric earthworks in interfluvial regions of Amazonia have shed new light onto the territorial extent and the long-term impact of pre-Columbian populations on contemporary landscapes. In particular, the recent development of LiDAR imagery has accelerated the discovery of earthworks in densely forested hinterlands throughout the Amazon basin and the Guiana Shield. This study aimed to evaluate the extent and landscape-scale spatial variations of pre-Columbian disturbances at three ring ditch sites in the French Guiana hinterland. We carried out extensive soil surveys along approximately 1 km-long transects spanning from ring ditches through the surrounding landscapes, and drawn upon multiple indicators, including archaeological artifacts, macro- and micro-charcoals, soil colorimetry, and physicochemical properties to retrace the pre-Columbian history of these sites in terms of occupation periods, anthropogenic soil alteration, and ancient land use. Our results revealed a perennial occupation of these sites over long periods ranging from the 5th and 15th centuries CE, with local enrichments in chemical indicators (Corg, N, Mg, K, Ca) both within the enclosures of ring ditches and in the surrounding landscapes. Physicochemical properties variations were accompanied by variations in soil colorimetry, with darker soils within the enclosure of ring ditches in terra-firme areas. Interestingly however, soil properties did not meet all the characteristics of the so-called Amazonian Dark Earths, thus advocating a paradigm shift towards a better integration of Amazonian Brown Earths into the definition of anthropogenic soils in Amazonia. Soil disturbances were also associated to local enrichments in macro- and micro-charcoals that support in situ fire management that could be attributed to forest clearance and/or slash-and-burn cultivation. Taken together, our results support the idea that pre-Columbian societies made extensive use of their landscapes in the interfluvial regions of the French Guiana hinterlands.

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