Scientists Reconstruct Pre-Columbian Human Effects on the Amazon Basin
Findings overturn idea that the Amazon had large populations of humans that transformed the landscape
Small, shifting human populations existed in the Amazon before the arrival of Europeans, with little long-term effect on the forest.
That’s the result of research led by Crystal McMichael and Mark Bush of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). The finding overturns the idea the Amazon was a cultural parkland in pre-Columbian times with large human populations that transformed vast tracts of the landscape.
The Amazon Basin is one of the highest biodiversity areas on Earth. Understanding how it was modified by humans in the past is important for conservation and for understanding the ecological processes in tropical rainforests. (more…)