Abstract
This chapter explores the definition of "nature" by providing a review of the long-term alteration of natural ecosystems by humans in the context of specific examples from pre-Columbian Latin America, with special emphasis on lowland South America and Costa Rica. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have been a keystone species in most natural habitats in the Americas since the end of the Pleistocene. This chapter argues that indigenous peoples of Latin America have played an essential role in shaping landscapes and ecosystems, both consciously and unconsciously, through the use of fire as well as a range of innovative agricultural technologies. It uses specific examples from pre-Columbian Latin America to explain how studies of archaeology, ethnohistory, and iconography have been useful in documenting the contributions of native populations to habitat alteration, how it has been experienced by these populations, and how it is interpreted by scholars.
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Notes
- 1.
The term “Anthopocene” was coined by Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer in 2000 (http://www.mpch-mainz.mpg.de/∼air/anthropocene/) as a term for the current geological epoch in order to emphasize the effects of industrialized human activity on the ecology of the Earth. They propose it began sometime in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
- 2.
“Literally, ecology is the study of organisms ‘at home’. Usually ecology is defined as the study of the relations of organisms or groups of organisms to their environment.” Odum (1971: 3) does acknowledge that “mankind is part of nature.”
- 3.
I do realize, however, that language can be insidious. Given a particular political agenda, filing an “Environmental Impact Statement” might be more effective than an “Environmental Alteration Statement.”
- 4.
However, Gould (1996) does assert that some cultural activities such as baseball are subject to Darwinian evolution.
- 5.
Slater (1995) explores “Edenic narratives” in which an original, pristine “Eden” is lost through human frailty and environmental degradation. She argues that the Amazon rain forest is now an imaginary Eden for many people in the USA and Europe who have never actually been there. This may also be true for the rainforest habitats of Costa Rica, which even more than the Amazon are becoming “accessible Edens” through ecotourism.
- 6.
They are thought to have been made by either Australopithecus garhi or A. afarensis.
- 7.
Think about the experience of coming upon the remains of a campsite in an otherwise “pristine” wilderness. Does it really make a significant difference whether the trash is a few days or a few hundred thousand years old? Humans have been there and left their mark. “Nature” has been violated.
- 8.
This comprehensive textbook edited by Scarre provides extensive documentation of long-term human presence around the globe, now clearly demonstrated by archaeological research.
- 9.
He divides this into 3.8 million for North America, 17.2 million for Mexico, 5.6 million for Central America, 3.0 million for the Caribbean, 15.7 million for the Andes, and 8.6 million for lowland South America (Denevan 1992b).
- 10.
In the case of high altitude Lake Chirripó, there are no direct associations with archaeological remains. “Natural ignition by lighting is also a possibility” (Horn and Sanford 1992).
- 11.
The estimate of maximum household population has since been revised upward to 200 (Ames personal communication 2010).
- 12.
They also note that the information that has been recorded on most of these sites is quite poor.
- 13.
Such as Heliconia, Cecropia, Byrsonima, Trema, and Acalypha.
- 14.
See Chacon, Chap. 13 in this volume for similar findings.
- 15.
The associated radiocarbon dates were slightly earlier than estimates for the pottery styles. The three earliest dates, when calibrated, yield curve intercepts at 2,465 and 2,359 bp (515 and 409 bc). The fourth, and most recent date, had calibrated intercepts of 1,050, 1,048, and 997 bp.
- 16.
The extensive Chacoan road system of the Southwestern USA undoubtedly contributed to landscape alteration and eventual resource depletion in western New Mexico.
- 17.
Santos-Granero (2009) has shown that the Calusa of the Southeastern USA were also in contact with peoples of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, suggesting even wider spreads of pathogens in advance of Spanish exploration.
- 18.
- 19.
“… muchas enfermedades que les a dado especialmente una que nuevamente les a dado de sarampión” (AGI, Guatemala 50, cited in Lovell 1992).
- 20.
- 21.
- 22.
“envió Dios tal enfermedad sobre ellos que quatro partes de indios se avia se llevó las tres” (AGI, Justicia 299 cited in Lovell 1992).
- 23.
“… fue señaladisima la sangre de narices que hubo el año 1558, en que murieron sin que nadie pudiese hallar remedio, muchisimas gentes… casi destruyó el reino” (Francisco Vázquez cited in Lovell 1992).
- 24.
“… toda está enferma y con pestilencia… se han muerto muy gran cantidad de indios” (AGI, Guatemala 9 cited in Lovell 1992:73).
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Hoopes, J.W. (2012). Imagining Human Alteration of Ancient Landscapes in Central and South America. In: Chacon, R., Mendoza, R. (eds) The Ethics of Anthropology and Amerindian Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1065-2_10
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