Saturday 31 August 2013

Amazing media response to our latest paper in PloS ONE

Our paper “Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens” has been published less that 3 days ago in PLoS ONE. It was included in the press release of PLoS ONE and, once the embargo expired, we produced two other press releases (see previous post).
I am amazed by the interest that media from all around the world have shown! Till now I have counted more than 50 articles from USA, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Bolivia, Russia, Australia etc. Plus, several people posted about our research in their blogs.
Samples from the internet press of the last 2 days:
Germany:
Brazil:
UK:
USA:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/10000-year-old-bolivian-settlements-amazon_n_3844189.html

A blog post I liked:

Thursday 29 August 2013

The Hidden Shell Middens - Press releases

Here two media releases, one in English written by Kat and the another in Spanish written by José, about our latest paper "Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens" published in PLoS ONE the 28th of August 2013.


Traces of the earliest inhabitants of Bolivian Amazonia hidden in plain sight
The enigmatic ‘forest islands’ set amidst the grasslands of Bolivian Amazonia have yielded the earliest evidence of human habitation in the region.   Previously thought to be relict landforms cut away by shifting rivers, or long-term bird rookeries or termite mounds, these piles of freshwater snails, animal bones and charcoal are now known to have been built up over millennia, starting from at least 10,400 years ago, by ancient hunter-gatherers. 
Using novel approaches drawn from archaeology, geomorphology and geochemistry, an international team of researchers, led by Dr. Umberto Lombardo of the University of Bern, has conducted detailed excavations of a large mound known locally as Isla del Tesoro (Treasure Island).  Distinctive chemical signatures of human presence were recorded at high levels throughout the mound sediments, and studies of the animal bones and shells indicate they are the remains of ancient human meals.  Isla del Tesoro tells us that from over 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers were moving across the grasslands hunting a variety of mammals, catching fish and birds, and gathering large quantities of freshwater snails.
 Over time, the refuse of these hunting and gathering forays built up forming mounds which sat elevated above the floodplain.  These refuse or ‘midden’ mounds in turn provided a habitat for local plants and animals, transforming them into the forest islands so recognisable in the landscape today.  It is highly likely that many more midden mounds lie buried beneath the metres of silts under the current savannah.
Regularly flooded savannah landscapes such as those surrounding Isla del Tesoro have long been thought to be an inhospitable environment for early hunter gatherers.   The densities of animal prey are lower and less predictable than in coastal areas, near stable watercourses or in forested areas where early South American archaeological sites are typically found.  Lombardo and colleagues’ work at Isla de Tesoro tells us that early South Americans moved across a wider variety of landscapes than previously thought, and adapted their ways of life to cope in these challenging environments.
Paper details
Lombardo, Umberto1, Katherine Szabó2, Jose M. Capriles3, Jan-Hendrik May2, Wulf Amelung4, Rainer Hutterer5, Eva Lehndorff4, Anna Plotzki1, Heinz Veit1. 2013.  Early and middle Holocene hunter-gatherer occupations in Western Amazonia: the hidden shell middens. PLOS ONE.  Online from 28th August, 5.00pm (EDT)

1 University of Bern, Switzerland
2 University of Wollongong, Australia
3 University of Pittsburgh, USA
4 University of Bonn, Germany

5 Alexander Koenig Zoological Museum, Bonn, Germany

Conchales ocultos revelan milenaria presencia humana en la Amazonia boliviana

Un equipo internacional de investigadores, dirigido por el Dr. Umberto Lombardo, de la Universidad de Berna – Suiza y que incluye al arqueólogo boliviano, Dr. José M. Capriles, acaba de publicar en la revista científica de acceso abierto PLoS ONE, un estudio que documenta la existencia de asentamientos humanos en la Amazonía boliviana desde al menos 10.400 años atrás. En esta región se atribuía la ausencia de ocupaciones pre-agrícolas a condiciones ambientales desfavorables. Sin embargo, esta investigación multidisciplinaria combinó información de arqueología, geomorfología y geoquímica, para identificar restos de asentamientos de cazadores-recolectores en islas de bosque” o “islas de monte” en los Llanos de Moxos del Departamento del Beni. Los autores de la investigación informan que tres de estas islas son conchales o montículos formados por conchas (además de huesos, tierra quemada y carbón) desechados por grupos de cazadores-recolectores móviles. Análisis de radiocarbono indican que estos grupos se establecieron en la región a principios del Holoceno, es decir, hace aproximadamente 10.400 años y que mantuvieron su modo de subsistencia varios milenos. Las islas de bosque estudiadas parecen haber sido abandonadas hace aproximadamente 4000 años atrás para luego ser reocupadas poco antes de la conquista española por las sociedades agrícolas que construyeron las lomas y camellones del Beni. Esta investigación permite confirmar que la Amazonía boliviana estuvo poblada por seres humanos mucho más antes de lo imaginado y que sus pobladores fueron agentes activos en la formación del paisaje.

Referencia

Umberto Lombardo, Katherine Szabo, José M. Capriles, Jan-Hendrik May, Wulf Amelung, Rainer Hutterer, Eva Lehndorff, Anna Plotzki & Heinz Veit. 2013. Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens. PLoS ONE Vol. 8, No. 8, pp. 1-14. E72746.



Esta publicación es resultado del “Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica: Ocupación Humana, Paisajes Antrópicos y Cambio Medioambiental durante el Holoceno en los Llanos de Moxos – Amazonía Boliviana” que cuenta con el apoyo del Viceministerio de Interculturalidad del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, la Gobernación del Departamento del Beni, la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias Suiza y otras institucionales internacionales y nacionales.