Ancient ways may sustain rural Bolivia

An aerial view of a fish weir (zigzagging from lower left to upper right) and artificial ponds (circular features surrounded by palms) between forested islands in the savanna of Baures, Bolivia

By Environmental News Network staff

There isn't much to eat in the remote Baures region of northeastern Bolivia.

For at least four months of the year, between November and April, the area's vast savanna is submerged in water. When the land dries out, it is too poor to grow crops or raise large herds of livestock.

But ancient Baures people knew how to shape the marginal environment into a landscape capable of serving a far larger human population than lives in the area today, according to a study published in today's issue of the journal Nature. The finding may have implications for sustainable land management in the future.

Clark Erickson, a professor of archaeology and anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that, by building a complex net of earthworks, the inhabitants of Baures turned their land into productive fish ranches.

"Instead of domesticating the fauna and flora of the savanna," Erickson said, "the Baure (people) domesticated the landscape."

On a flight over the area in 1995, Erickson noticed dense networks of raised, interconnected earthen structures that zigzagged the flat landscape. He then determined that early inhabitants of the region built the structures to control the movement of fish across the landscape during the rainy season.

"With very little effort and very little work, they were able to capture and preserve fish in the tropical environment," Erickson said.

The earthen structures, which Erickson believes were abandoned following the Spanish colonization of the area in the 1700s, are similar to fish weirs built by indigenous people throughout the Americas today.

Yet, prior to Erickson's study, there were no documented fisheries of the same dimension and complexity in published studies on Native Americans.

The finding is part of a larger, ongoing investigation of the vast complex of pre-Hispanic earthworks in Bolivia's Amazon region. Erickson and a growing number of anthropologists believe that these earthworks, which include raised fields for agriculture and large settlement mounds, causeways and canals, offer clear evidence of a long history of pre-Hispanic sophistication and expertise in landscape engineering by indigenous peoples of the area.

So-called "apple snails" found beside the old fish weirs if Baures were probably raised during the pre-Columbian period as an important food source

"Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Native Americans of this region applied their knowledge of hydrology, soils, ecology and agriculture to build a highly productive landscape," Erickson noted. "Although the native peoples were removed from the lands by the Spanish missionaries and by European-introduced epidemics, the abandoned earthworks still influence the vegetation, drainage and biodiversity of the region today."

According to Erickson, that knowledge may have applications in modern-day sustainable development of the region. A number of scholars believe that archaeology and historical ecology can greatly contribute to the understanding of the present environment of the Amazon.

"If further experiments show that the ancient agricultural landscapes can be reconstituted and the savannas can be made productive, we may have an alternative to reckless felling of the rain forest," said Warwick Bray, a professor of archaeology at the University College London in an accompanying article that also appears in Nature.

Archaeologists have been testing their discoveries from the past in the context of the modern world. Between 1990 to 1994, Erickson and colleagues worked with native communities to test the reintroduction of raised field agriculture. Similarly, Erickson hopes to develop an experimental fish weir project in the near future.

"Archaeologists can play a major role in documenting and recovering indigenous knowledge of land use and technology that are not recorded in historical or ethnographic documents," he said. "Archaeology can contribute to the long-term study of environments and, I believe, provide models for sustainable development based on past uses of the land."

Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

Salmon battered by man and nature
October 27, 2000
River ladder aids salmon's uphill battle
October 27, 2000
Drought in West puts fisheries in hot water
August 1, 2000
Wild salmon send cousins back to the farm
June 22, 2000

Commentary: River projects erode foundation of farming
Uniting conservation and communities
The Worldwatch Report: Judgement protects indigenous knowledge
Farm boom moves from land to water

Baures
Nature
Clark Erickson

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.