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Thread: Ancient tree farming

  1. #1
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    Default Ancient tree farming

    SCIENCE NEWS | Thu Mar 2, 2017 | 4:30pm EST

    Ancient human tree cultivation shaped Amazon landscape

    By Will Dunham | WASHINGTON

    Ancient indigenous peoples had a far more profound impact on the composition of the vast Amazon rainforest than previously known, according to a study showing how tree species domesticated by humans long ago still dominate big swathes of the wilderness.

    Researchers said on Thursday many tree species populating the Amazon region appear to be abundant because they were cultivated by people who populated the area before Europeans arrived more than five centuries ago. These include the Brazil nut, cacao, acai palm, rubber, caimito, cashew and tucuma palm.

    "So the Amazon is not nearly as untouched as it may seem," said study researcher Hans ter Steege, a forest community ecologist at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands and Free University of Amsterdam.

    The researchers used data on the tree composition of forests at 1,170 sites throughout the Amazon and compared it to a map of more than 3,000 known archaeological sites representing past human settlements.

    The study found that 85 tree species known to have been used by Amazonian peoples for fruit, nuts, building materials and other purposes over the past roughly 8,000 years were five times more likely to be dominant in mature Amazon forests than species that had not been domesticated.

    It also found that forests closer to the pre-Columbian settlements were much more likely to boast tree species domesticated by ancient peoples.

    The Amazon rainforest is a commanding natural feature in South America and one of the world's richest biological reservoirs, teeming with plant and animal life. Much of it is situated in Brazil but parts are also in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador and French Guiana.

    Many of the trees found in large numbers represent species critical for the livelihood and economy of Amazonian peoples. At the time of European conquest, there were an estimated 8 to 10 million people in the Amazon, speaking at least 400 different languages.

    The research was published in the journal Science.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sc...-idUSKBN1692W8
    (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)

  2. #2
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    Pretty interesting. Just like a lot if firsts I've always wondered about the first cashew, that's a dern process. Also the fact of several country's well know "dish" or whatever had South American origins or flavors. From tomatoes, potatoes, cashews..

  3. #3
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    The soil in the basin is very poor. Evidence of huge raised beds, acres in size have been found, with soil still much richer than the surrounding area, along with ancient canals, walls, and other stuff. There's a lot about ancient history that we can't even imagine.
    Last edited by GMAC; 03-02-2017 at 07:21 PM.

  4. #4
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    OMG! The ancient American people created GMO's! Corn doesn't grow wild. It's man made. Now you're telling me the Amazon, the "lungs of the planet", was planted by men?

    Highstrung is right. When we think of Italian food, we think of marinara sauce but the Italians didn't know about tomatoes until the New World was discovered/pillaged. The Irish didn't have potatoes either. On the other hand, Native Americans didn't have horses....or smallpox. Hawaiians learned about STD's from James Cook. Humans are good at sharing.

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    One of my favorite stories about the Aztecs was when they were having a religious ceremony honoring the coming of some sort of serpent deity back to earth in human form. At the very moment they were all gathered in the center of the village, and at the very moment the sun was aligning with some religious temple, in struts Cortes on horseback, by himself, not having the slightest clue about what is going on. He thought they were there to surrender and welcome him and his conquistadors. He rode right into the center of the ceremony, made a loud announcement that he was there to claim all of the land, and it's people, for the Spanish crown. The Aztecs had no clue what this gringo was talking about, but cheered him, and took him in as a god for like a week. After Cortes grew bored, he ordered his army to storm the place, and he killed just about everyone and conquered the land.
    Last edited by Moonlight Hunter; 03-02-2017 at 09:31 PM.

  6. #6
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    Him and Hitler were regular barrels of laughs. ^
    We gave you Corn,you gave us clap,bad trade.

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