Cultivating the Past: Pre-Columbian Agriculture, Settlement, and Environment in the Yungas of the Eastern Cordillera Montaña, Bolivia
Director Christian Isendahl, Uppsala University, Sweden
Co-director Walter Sanchez, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba
Representing research cooperation between Bolivian and Swedish archaeologists with financial support from Asdi-SAREC, the project forms a case study of how archaeological research can contribute to the implementation of sustainable management strategies of environmental resources, and runs over three years (2007-2009).
The aim is to document archaeological, environmental, geochemical, and ethnoecological data from the yungas of Tablas Monte, in the eastern cordillera montaña in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to understand the unique pre-Columbian agricultural land-use systems of these areas in detail. Recent important archaeological investigations at Tablas Monte directed by Walter Sanchez of the Museo Antropológico, Universidad Mayor de San Simón demonstrate that ancient farmers practiced agricultural production techniques specifically adapted to the environments of the yungas. These involved the sophisticated use of agro- and hydro-technology, including terracing, canals, and field plot demarcations so far unreported from elsewhere in Latin America. Employing a multidimensional and -scalar approach, this project detail the distribution, chronology, and forms and functions of ancient agrosystems in the yungas of Tablas Monte. On the basis of the evidence, programs of archaeological conservation and restoration and agricultural experimentation will be initiated to the functions of the ancient agrosystems and their productivity for different indigenous crops, tubers such as arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza), manioc (Manihot esculenta), and yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius), using a variety of cropping and tending strategies. Combined, the empirical investigations will provide a robust foundation for evaluating the potential of reviving these forgotten ancient agrosystems and technologies for current cultivation needs. Contemporary smallholders of the yungas practice extensive, pesticide-dependent swidden cultivation that promotes soil erosion, deforestation, and a loss of biodiversity. Furthermore, in their efforts to clear plots, farmers regularly damage the archaeological remains, which are threatened by destruction. Drawing on the documentation, restoration, and testing of pre-Columbian agrosystems and -technologies, the ultimate ambition of the project is to provide an ecologically and economically sustainable alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture that counteract current negative environmental and social trends. Disseminating research results among smallholders and rural communities in local schools, in exhibitions, and by distributing informative pamphlets in Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara will assist in the protection of the unique cultural heritage of the yungas for current and future generations of smallholders to learn and benefit from.
