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When I began this project, I wanted to look at how Amazonian civilizations lived. I thought it was an interesting topic because of the amount of unexplored terrain in the Amazon. There are approximately 1.2 million square miles of jungle today, largely unexplored and undocumented. The purpose of my project was to learn a lot about something we know little about. My research question was: “How did Amazonian farming practices affect how Amazonian civilizations lived?” I answered that by learning about terra preta and artificial selection, looking at LIDAR images to further explore the structures of the terrain, looking at Francisco de Orellana’s map, and studying the Marajó people’s arts. My claim for this project is: The Marajó people, and other Amazonian civilizations, advanced farming practices led to flourishing civilizations full of incredible structures and amazing art.

Advanced Farming


My first source is called "The Supposedly Pristine, Untouched Amazon Rainforest Was Actually Shaped By Humans." It is from the Smithsonian, and is a secondary source. In the article, it demonstrates how the Amazon was shaped by humans. Some of the species of plants influenced by humans were "species such as the Brazil nut, the Amazon tree grape and the ice cream bean tree." This source supports my claim because it shows how the Marajó and other Amazonian civilizations were very selective with the plants that flourished in the Amazon. The limitation of this source is that it is not a direct quote from people doing the selection that the article described.

Terra Preta
My second and third sources are both called "Terra Preta." They are from Science Direct and Wikipedia, and are secondary sources.

In the Science Direct article, it explains how Terra Preta was created and how it improved the Amazon’s ecosystem. Terra Preta is a man-made creation made to help the soils of the Amazon become fertile. It was created over time, and transferred through civilizations during a period from 9000-1000 years ago. Without Terra Preta, the soil of the Amazon is infertile and difficult to grow something for an extended period of time. Terra Preta is comprised of a form of advanced composting and controlled burns. It can be found in places such as “Ecuador and Peru, … West Africa (Benin, Liberia), and the savanna of South Africa (Lehmann et al., 2003).” This source supports my claim because it shows how Terra Preta helped the Amazon be very advanced in how they farmed, helping them thrive more comfortably. Discovering Terra Preta gave people an understanding that the Amazon was more advanced than they thought. The limitation of the Science Direct article is it only tells one story– it is missing an explanation of the people who created the Terra Preta.

The Wikipedia article supports my claim because it speaks about how Terra Preta affected the Amazon. It gives details about the process of creating Terra Preta. The article explains that Terra Preta was made “of high quantities of tiny pottery shards; of organic matter such as plant residues, animal feces, fish and animal bones, and other material; and of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc and manganese.” The limitations of Wikipedia is that some of the information could be false.

LIDAR Showing the Civilization
My fourth source is called “Lost Cities of the Amazon Discovered From the Air.” It is from the Smithsonian, and is a secondary source. In the article, it explains how LIDAR is used to help find unexplored and unknown locations built by ancient civilizations. With LIDAR we have been able to find lost cities, which have been lost for over 500 years. The myth of El Dorado, like other cities, has been lost but with LIDAR we have been able to find some of these cities. This source supports my claim because it shows how the people of the amazon built incredible structures. They built these structures with the help of the farming practices they did because it would be the only way they could fuel the people who built it. The limitation of this source is that it doesn't show the original structure with detail because it has been covered in jungle.

Francisco de Orellana's Story
My fifth source is called Manuscript map of Francisco de Orellana's expedition of 1539 to 1542. It is from wikipedia, and is a primary source made by Antonio Pereira, a Portuguese seaman. In the photo, it shows the map of Francisco De Orellana’s journey across the amazon river. This connects to the Amazons advanced farming because of what Francisco De Orellana said he found. They treated his findings like they were a myth. They didn't believe him and treated him like a clown for what they thought was a lie. This source supports my claim because he claimed to have seen phenomenal cities and flourishing jungles. The limitation of this source is that it doesn't have his statement about what he found. The only thing we can see is the map he drew along his journey.

Marajó Civilization
My sixth source is called the Marajó Jar, Infinity of nations. It is from the National Museum of the American Indian, and is a primary source. In the photo, it shows a jar created by the Marajó people. This source shows that the Marajó had a form of art. It is a creation made of clay. This source supports my claim because it shows amazing art, which was made by Marajó people who practiced advanced farming. They used the farming practices to fuel the people who made the art. They also could have used the jar to store food. The limitation of this source is that there is no explanation of what it was used for.

What People Think
My seventh source is called "The Secret of El Dorado" and it’s a transcript of a show. It is from BBC, and is a secondary source. In the transcript, it speaks about how Professor Betty Meggers doesn’t believe El Dorado could have been as advanced as it was. She doesn’t believe that a civilization that long ago could be as technically advanced. She states “if you're going to believe that the indigenous population had a secret that we haven't been able to discover with all our technology…” This shows that she doesn’t believe that it could have been technologically advanced. The limitation of this source is that it is a TV show, and Prof. Betty Meggers is close-minded, or is not open to the option of them having advanced structures, amazing art, or sophisticated farming practices. This source shows a counterargument to my claim. My opinion is that they had the capabilities to be that advanced.

So What?
My biggest takeaway from the perspectives of this topic is that a lot of people believe very different things if there is not a definitive answer. Some people believe terra preta was a natural occurring thing even though there is evidence otherwise. I believe it is man made because of the evidence backing it up. The single story of my project is that the public believe the amazon is a huge jungle full of structures that they can't prove that the native people did it. When Francisco de Orellana explored the Amazon, nobody believed what he explored– immense cities the size of 16th century London–  until it was too late and the cities were no longer populated. This is valuable because it influences how the Marajó people and other amazonian civilizations were perceived over the years. This project can teach us about the impact of the way we treat others because of how Francisco de Orellana was treated after he provided evidence of Marajó and other amazonian civilizations. It can also teach us that just because it is “not believable,” it does not mean that it is incorrect. People shut down the possibility of the theory that amazon civilizations being advanced, and it turns out that theories were correct.

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