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Papers by Manuel Arroyo-Kalin

Revista del Museo de La Plata , 2019

Revista del Museo de La Plata , 2019

The use of Niche Construction Theory in archaeological research demands that we establish empiric... more The use of Niche Construction Theory in archaeological research demands that we establish empirically how human-constructed niches acted as legacies that shaped the selection pressures affecting past human populations. One potential approach is to examine whether human demography changed as a result of the continued use of landscapes enduringly transformed by past societies. This paper presents proxies for Amazonian population growth during the late Holocene and discusses their significance within the broader context of landscape legacies resulting from cumulative anthropic environmental alteration during pre-Columbian times.

This short paper introduces the special section ‘Civilisation and the Construction of the Human N... more This short paper introduces the special section ‘Civilisation and the Construction of the Human Niche’ of this issue of Archaeology International

Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology, 2017

This paper reviews recent research using soil micromorphology to examine Amazonian Dark Earths

Las Siete Maravillas de la Amazonía precolombina (S. Rostain, C. Jaimes, editores)

Las tierras antrópicas de la Amazonía – conocidas también como Terras Pretas de Índio o Amazonian... more Las tierras antrópicas de la Amazonía – conocidas también como Terras Pretas de Índio o Amazonian Dark Earths – tienen una posición estelar dentro de las siete maravillas de la Amazonía precolombina...

RESUMO No caminho da cobra arco-íris: as cerâmicas pré-colombianas do baixo rio Napo A arqueologi... more RESUMO No caminho da cobra arco-íris: as cerâmicas pré-colombianas do baixo rio Napo A arqueologia do bajo rio Napo foi inicialmente conhecida através da pesquisa pioneira de Clifford Evans e Betty Meggers (1968), cuja sequência de quatro fases é ainda a espinha dorsal da arqueologia da região. No entanto, nas últimas décadas, avanços diversos expandiram a nossa compreensão das ocupações pré-coloniais da bacia do rio Napo. As pesquisas arqueológicas na Alta Amazônia e as informações fornecidas pela arqueologia preventiva em Equador têm demostrado que a cerâmica com decoração corrugada (fase Cotacocha) é parte de uma extensa tradição regional que começa no primeiro milênio da era comum. Por outro lado, o colecionismo missionário, que registra uma distribuição espacial da fase Napo a longo de todo o curso inferior do Napo equatoriano, documenta para esta fase um extenso vocabulário de formas de vasos e modalidades decorativas para uso doméstico, festivo-ritual, e funerário. As últimas pesquisas estendem a distribuição regional da fase Tivacuno, inserem a fase Yasuní numa extensa rede de interação do Formativo tardio, e – contrariando o modelo de áreas desabitadas entre às sociedades ribeirinhas na era pré-colombiana – registram um território de Omáguas proto-históricos que quase alcança a foz do rio Napo. Neste capitulo sintetizamos informações sobre as características formais, a distribuição regional, e a cronologia da cerâmica associada a estas fases e a outros complexos arqueológicos recentemente reconhecidos. ABSTRACT Following the path of the rainbow boa: Pre-Columbian ceramics of the Napo river The archaeology of the lower River Napo was initially known through the pioneering research of Clifford Evans and Betty Meggers, whose four-phase sequence continues to be the backbone of the region's archaeology. However, in recent decades a number of advances have expanded our understanding of the pre-Columbian occupations of the Napo River basin. Archaeological research in the Upper Amazon and information derived from contract archaeology in Ecuador have shown that pottery with corrugated decoration (Cotacocha phase) is part of an extensive regional tradition that begins in the first millennium of the common era. Missionary collecting in the region, on the other hand, records the Napo phase along the entire lower reaches of the Ecuadorian Napo and documents an extensive vocabulary of shapes and decoration of domestic, festive-ritual and funerary vessels. The latest research extends the regional distribution of the Tivacuno phase, inserts the Yasuní phase in an extensive network of interaction of the late Formative, and-contradicting the model of uninhabited areas (buffer zones) between pre-Columbian riparian societies-records a territory of the proto-historic Omaguas that almost extends to the mouth of the Napo River. In this chapter we synthesize information about the formal characteristics, regional distribution, and chronology of the pottery associated with these phases and with other recently recognized archaeological complexes.

How do human and landscape histories reciprocally affect each other? Can we distinguish between ... more How do human and landscape histories reciprocally affect each other? Can we distinguish between deliberate and unintended anthropic transformations of the landscape? This chapter summarizes evidence from pre-Columbian Amazonia in order to discuss the relation between three dimensions of anthropic landscape transformations: landscaping, landscape legacies, and landesque capital. Conflation between these three categories can lead to theoretical road closures and certainly risks oversimplifying both causality and consequence when anthropic landscape modifications are considered. On the other hand, paying attention to their differences defines a rich field of research in which historical ecology, earth-scientific thinking, and human niche construction theory converge.

Research at the Maya archaeological site of Marco Gonzalez on Ambergris Caye in Belize is socio-e... more Research at the Maya archaeological site of Marco Gonzalez on Ambergris Caye in Belize is socio-ecological because human activities have been a factor in the formation and fluctuation of the local marine and terrestrial environments over time. The site is one of many on Belize's coast and cayes that exhibit anomalous vegetation and dark-coloured soils. These soils, although sought for cultivation, are not typical ‘Amazonian Dark Earths’ but instead are distinctive to the weathering of carbonate-rich anthropogenic deposits. We tentatively term these location-specific soils as Maya Dark Earths. Our research seeks to quantify the role of human activities in long-term environmental change and to develop strategies, specifically Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), that can be applied to environmental impact modelling today.

Estudos micropedológicos foram carreados em Terra Preta de Índio (TPI) com o objetivo de elucidar... more Estudos micropedológicos foram carreados em Terra Preta de Índio (TPI) com o objetivo de elucidar os processos envolvidos em sua gênese, bem como suas formas de utilização pré-colombiana. Blocos indeformados de solo foram coletados por horizonte em um perfil de Argissolo Amarelo A Antrópico (TPI) localizado no município de Iranduba, AM. As lâminas delgadas confeccionadas a partir dos blocos foram descritas por meio de microscopia óptica. A gênese desse solo envolve: i) condições pedoambientais diferentes das atuais (pedorrelíquias - nódulos ferruginosos); ii) argiluviação (revestimentos de ferri-argilãs); iii) migração de ferro (cutãs de difusão); iv) bioturbação (preenchimento de poros por pelotas fecais e microagregação zoogenética) e v) antropismo, que contribuiu com a queima de resíduos (partículas de carvões) e descarte de artefatos cerâmicos. Foram utilizados cauixi (Tubella reticulata e Parnula betesil) e cariapé (Bignoniacea) como antiplástico para o fabrico das cerâmicas.

Archaeology International, 2014

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

PNAS

It is difficult to overstate the cultural and biological impacts that the domestication of plants... more It is difficult to overstate the cultural and biological impacts that the domestication of plants and animals has had on our species. Fundamental questions regarding where, when, and how many times domestication took place have been of primary interest within a wide range of academic disciplines. Within the last two decades, the advent of new archaeological and genetic techniques has revolutionized our understanding of the pattern and process of domestication and agricultural origins that led to our modern way of life. In the spring of 2011, 25 scholars with a central interest in domestication representing the fields of genetics, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geoarchaeology, and archaeology met at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center to discuss recent domestication research progress and identify challenges for the future. In this introduction to the resulting Special Feature, we present the state of the art in the field by discussing what is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of domestication, and controversies surrounding the speed, intentionality, and evolutionary aspects of the domestication process. We then highlight three key challenges for future research. We conclude by arguing that although recent progress has been impressive, the next decade will yield even more substantial insights not only into how domestication took place, but also when and where it did, and where and why it did not."

Revista del Museo de La Plata , 2019

Revista del Museo de La Plata , 2019

The use of Niche Construction Theory in archaeological research demands that we establish empiric... more The use of Niche Construction Theory in archaeological research demands that we establish empirically how human-constructed niches acted as legacies that shaped the selection pressures affecting past human populations. One potential approach is to examine whether human demography changed as a result of the continued use of landscapes enduringly transformed by past societies. This paper presents proxies for Amazonian population growth during the late Holocene and discusses their significance within the broader context of landscape legacies resulting from cumulative anthropic environmental alteration during pre-Columbian times.

This short paper introduces the special section ‘Civilisation and the Construction of the Human N... more This short paper introduces the special section ‘Civilisation and the Construction of the Human Niche’ of this issue of Archaeology International

Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology, 2017

This paper reviews recent research using soil micromorphology to examine Amazonian Dark Earths

Las Siete Maravillas de la Amazonía precolombina (S. Rostain, C. Jaimes, editores)

Las tierras antrópicas de la Amazonía – conocidas también como Terras Pretas de Índio o Amazonian... more Las tierras antrópicas de la Amazonía – conocidas también como Terras Pretas de Índio o Amazonian Dark Earths – tienen una posición estelar dentro de las siete maravillas de la Amazonía precolombina...

RESUMO No caminho da cobra arco-íris: as cerâmicas pré-colombianas do baixo rio Napo A arqueologi... more RESUMO No caminho da cobra arco-íris: as cerâmicas pré-colombianas do baixo rio Napo A arqueologia do bajo rio Napo foi inicialmente conhecida através da pesquisa pioneira de Clifford Evans e Betty Meggers (1968), cuja sequência de quatro fases é ainda a espinha dorsal da arqueologia da região. No entanto, nas últimas décadas, avanços diversos expandiram a nossa compreensão das ocupações pré-coloniais da bacia do rio Napo. As pesquisas arqueológicas na Alta Amazônia e as informações fornecidas pela arqueologia preventiva em Equador têm demostrado que a cerâmica com decoração corrugada (fase Cotacocha) é parte de uma extensa tradição regional que começa no primeiro milênio da era comum. Por outro lado, o colecionismo missionário, que registra uma distribuição espacial da fase Napo a longo de todo o curso inferior do Napo equatoriano, documenta para esta fase um extenso vocabulário de formas de vasos e modalidades decorativas para uso doméstico, festivo-ritual, e funerário. As últimas pesquisas estendem a distribuição regional da fase Tivacuno, inserem a fase Yasuní numa extensa rede de interação do Formativo tardio, e – contrariando o modelo de áreas desabitadas entre às sociedades ribeirinhas na era pré-colombiana – registram um território de Omáguas proto-históricos que quase alcança a foz do rio Napo. Neste capitulo sintetizamos informações sobre as características formais, a distribuição regional, e a cronologia da cerâmica associada a estas fases e a outros complexos arqueológicos recentemente reconhecidos. ABSTRACT Following the path of the rainbow boa: Pre-Columbian ceramics of the Napo river The archaeology of the lower River Napo was initially known through the pioneering research of Clifford Evans and Betty Meggers, whose four-phase sequence continues to be the backbone of the region's archaeology. However, in recent decades a number of advances have expanded our understanding of the pre-Columbian occupations of the Napo River basin. Archaeological research in the Upper Amazon and information derived from contract archaeology in Ecuador have shown that pottery with corrugated decoration (Cotacocha phase) is part of an extensive regional tradition that begins in the first millennium of the common era. Missionary collecting in the region, on the other hand, records the Napo phase along the entire lower reaches of the Ecuadorian Napo and documents an extensive vocabulary of shapes and decoration of domestic, festive-ritual and funerary vessels. The latest research extends the regional distribution of the Tivacuno phase, inserts the Yasuní phase in an extensive network of interaction of the late Formative, and-contradicting the model of uninhabited areas (buffer zones) between pre-Columbian riparian societies-records a territory of the proto-historic Omaguas that almost extends to the mouth of the Napo River. In this chapter we synthesize information about the formal characteristics, regional distribution, and chronology of the pottery associated with these phases and with other recently recognized archaeological complexes.

How do human and landscape histories reciprocally affect each other? Can we distinguish between ... more How do human and landscape histories reciprocally affect each other? Can we distinguish between deliberate and unintended anthropic transformations of the landscape? This chapter summarizes evidence from pre-Columbian Amazonia in order to discuss the relation between three dimensions of anthropic landscape transformations: landscaping, landscape legacies, and landesque capital. Conflation between these three categories can lead to theoretical road closures and certainly risks oversimplifying both causality and consequence when anthropic landscape modifications are considered. On the other hand, paying attention to their differences defines a rich field of research in which historical ecology, earth-scientific thinking, and human niche construction theory converge.

Research at the Maya archaeological site of Marco Gonzalez on Ambergris Caye in Belize is socio-e... more Research at the Maya archaeological site of Marco Gonzalez on Ambergris Caye in Belize is socio-ecological because human activities have been a factor in the formation and fluctuation of the local marine and terrestrial environments over time. The site is one of many on Belize's coast and cayes that exhibit anomalous vegetation and dark-coloured soils. These soils, although sought for cultivation, are not typical ‘Amazonian Dark Earths’ but instead are distinctive to the weathering of carbonate-rich anthropogenic deposits. We tentatively term these location-specific soils as Maya Dark Earths. Our research seeks to quantify the role of human activities in long-term environmental change and to develop strategies, specifically Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), that can be applied to environmental impact modelling today.

Estudos micropedológicos foram carreados em Terra Preta de Índio (TPI) com o objetivo de elucidar... more Estudos micropedológicos foram carreados em Terra Preta de Índio (TPI) com o objetivo de elucidar os processos envolvidos em sua gênese, bem como suas formas de utilização pré-colombiana. Blocos indeformados de solo foram coletados por horizonte em um perfil de Argissolo Amarelo A Antrópico (TPI) localizado no município de Iranduba, AM. As lâminas delgadas confeccionadas a partir dos blocos foram descritas por meio de microscopia óptica. A gênese desse solo envolve: i) condições pedoambientais diferentes das atuais (pedorrelíquias - nódulos ferruginosos); ii) argiluviação (revestimentos de ferri-argilãs); iii) migração de ferro (cutãs de difusão); iv) bioturbação (preenchimento de poros por pelotas fecais e microagregação zoogenética) e v) antropismo, que contribuiu com a queima de resíduos (partículas de carvões) e descarte de artefatos cerâmicos. Foram utilizados cauixi (Tubella reticulata e Parnula betesil) e cariapé (Bignoniacea) como antiplástico para o fabrico das cerâmicas.

Archaeology International, 2014

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

PNAS

It is difficult to overstate the cultural and biological impacts that the domestication of plants... more It is difficult to overstate the cultural and biological impacts that the domestication of plants and animals has had on our species. Fundamental questions regarding where, when, and how many times domestication took place have been of primary interest within a wide range of academic disciplines. Within the last two decades, the advent of new archaeological and genetic techniques has revolutionized our understanding of the pattern and process of domestication and agricultural origins that led to our modern way of life. In the spring of 2011, 25 scholars with a central interest in domestication representing the fields of genetics, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geoarchaeology, and archaeology met at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center to discuss recent domestication research progress and identify challenges for the future. In this introduction to the resulting Special Feature, we present the state of the art in the field by discussing what is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of domestication, and controversies surrounding the speed, intentionality, and evolutionary aspects of the domestication process. We then highlight three key challenges for future research. We conclude by arguing that although recent progress has been impressive, the next decade will yield even more substantial insights not only into how domestication took place, but also when and where it did, and where and why it did not."

Las Siete Maravillas de la Amazonía precolombina, 2017

El año 2017 un grupo de reconocid@s arqueólog@s escribieron para el IV Encuentro Internacional de... more El año 2017 un grupo de reconocid@s arqueólog@s escribieron para el IV Encuentro Internacional de Arqueología Amazónica, un libro sobre “Las siete maravillas de la Amazonia Precolombina”, con la intención de mostrar los resultados de las investigaciones arqueológicas de las últimas décadas y además hacer un llamado a las autoridades locales, nacionales e internacionales sobre la necesidad de conocer este legado y aplicar medidas para el cuidado del patrimonio cultural de este enorme territorio, en el cual la naturaleza y la cultura intervienen de una manera vinculante.
Este libro presenta siete “high lights” de la Amazonia precolombina que deben ser de conocimiento general: 1) Los concheros de la Amazonia, sitios con una profunda historia cultural de por lo menos 6.000 años de antigüedad en el cual fueron encontradas las primeras evidencias de consumo de plantas domésticas y el uso de vasijas cerámicas, 2) Montículos habitaciones con variabilidades regionales, que en algunos casos llegan a ser importantes construcciones arquitectónicas, 3) Geoglifos y Zanjas, que se encuentran demarcando aldeas y espacios rituales al suroeste de la Amazonía, 4) “Terras pretas” o tierras negras, un legado de las actividades de las poblaciones indígenas precolombinas que aumenta el rendimiento de los suelos, 5) Camellones y una diversidad de sistemas agrícolas destinados a mejorar las condiciones del suelo y contrarrestar los efectos de prolongadas sequías y/o inundaciones, 6) monumentos megalíticos, construcciones excepcionales en la Amazonia, que nos develan nociones de ritualidad y territorialidad de los pueblos prehispánicos y 7) el arte rupestre amazónico, no solo como una fuente de inspiración artística sino y sobretodo como una materialidad más que el arqueólogo complementa con otras evidencias para tratar de interpretar su rol y significado en el pasado.