The origins and early development of plant food production and farming in Colombian tropical forests

Aceituno, Francisco Javier; Loaiza, Nicolás

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2017.12.007

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Many, such as Dioscorea yams and Ipomoea tubers, are amenable to vegetative propagation within gardens or in their 'natural' habitats via paracultivation (sensu Dounias, 2001). Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that plants that produce underground storage organs were a fundamental part of the diet of human populations as they colonised new territories (Aceituno and Loaiza, 2018;Jones, 2009). Palms, an essential resource for tropical forest residents, providing food (palm fruits) and construction materials (thatch, fibres and wood), also appear to have played a major role in the diet of these early colonisers.…”

Section: Roots and Tuberssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…However, mounting evidence shows that these early South Americans did not avoid tropical rainforests, nor were they passive consumers of its resources. The evidence hints at early cultivation of annual crops and the management of trees of economic importance (Aceituno and Loaiza, 2018;Iriarte, 2007;Lombardo et al, 2020;Morcote-Ríos et al, 2014;Piperno, 2011;Roosevelt et al, 1996;Shock and Moraes, 2019), with implications for understanding plant domestication, the long-term legacy of human-plant interaction, and the potential role of humans in the current hyperdominance of useful plants in Amazonia (Levis et al, 2017).…”

Section: History Of Plant Domestication and The Development Of Agricumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and Maranta cf. arundinacea, along with the tree fruits Persea, Caryocar and Virola (Aceituno and Loaiza, 2018;Dickau et al, 2015;Piperno and Pearsall, 1998), and a variety of palms accompanied by pollen evidence of small forest clearings (Plantago, Asteraceae). The Middle Cauca region is one of the regions where more intensive archaeology and archaeobotany in the tropical South American has been conducted.…”

Section: The Beginning Of Plant Cultivation and Domestication In Tropmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The origins of Amazonian landscapes: Plant cultivation, domestication and the spread of food production in tropical South America

Iriarte

Elliott

Maezumi

et al. 2020

Quaternary Science Reviews

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the last two decades, new archaeological projects which systematically integrate a variety of plant recovery techniques, along with palaeoecology, palaeoclimate, soil science and floristic inventories, have started to transform our understanding of plant exploitation, cultivation and domestication in tropical South America. Archaeobotanical studies are providing a far greater appreciation of the role of plants in the diets of early colonists. Since~13ka, these diets relied mainly on palm, tree fruits, and underground tubers, along with terrestrial and riverine faunal resources. Recent evidence indicates two areas of precocious plant cultivation and domestication: the sub-Andean montane forest of NW South America and the shrub savannahs and seasonal forests of SW Amazonia. In the latter area, thousands of anthropic keystone structures represented by forest islands show a significant human footprint in Amazonia from the start of the Holocene. While radiocarbon date databases show a decline in population during the middle Holocene, important developments happened during this epoch, including the domestication of cacao, the adoption of maize and the spread of manioc across the basin. The late Holocene witnessed the domestication of rice and the development of agricultural landscapes characterised by raised fields and Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs). Our multi-proxy analysis of 23 late Holocene ADEs and two lakes from southern Amazonia provides the first direct evidence of field polyculture agriculture including the cultivation of maize, manioc, sweet potato, squash, arrowroot and leren within closed-canopy forest, as well as enrichment with palms, limited clearing for crop cultivation, and low-severity fire management. Collectively, the evidence shows that during the late Holocene Amazonian farmers engaged in intensive agriculture marked by the cultivation of both annual and perennial crops relying on organic amendments requiring soil preparation and maintenance. Our study has broader implications for sustainable Amazonian futures.

show abstract

Section: Roots and Tuberssupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: History Of Plant Domestication and The Development Of Agricumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Beginning Of Plant Cultivation and Domestication In Tropmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The origins of Amazonian landscapes: Plant cultivation, domestication and the spread of food production in tropical South America

Iriarte

Elliott

Maezumi

et al. 2020

Quaternary Science Reviews

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The fertile FIs were probably the home gardens where these crops were cultivated. Our data are in agreement with the hypothesis that plants producing underground storage organs were a fundamental part of the diet of human populations colonizing new territories 28 , 29 .…”

Section: The Importance Of Starch-based Foodssupporting

confidence: 91%

Early Holocene crop cultivation and landscape modification in Amazonia

Lombardo

Iriarte

Hilbert

et al. 2020

Nature

149

118

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The beginning of plant cultivation is one of the most important cultural transitions in human history 1 – 4 . Based on molecular markers showing the genetic similarities between domesticated plants and wild relatives, south-western Amazonia has been proposed as one of the early centres of plant domestication 4 – 6 . However, the nature of the early human occupation and the history of plant cultivation in south-western Amazonia are still little understood. Here, we document the cultivation of Cucurbita at ca. 10,250 cal yr BP, Manihot at ca. 10,350 cal yr BP and Zea mays at ca. 6,850 cal yr BP in the Llanos de Moxos. We show that, starting ca. 10,850 cal yr BP, pre-Columbians created an anthropic landscape made of approximately 4,700 artificial forest islands within a treeless seasonally flooded savannah. Our results confirm the Llanos de Moxos as a hotspot for early plant cultivation and demonstrate that ever since their arrival, humans have caused a profound alteration of Amazonian landscapes, with lasting repercussions for habitat heterogeneity and species conservation.

show abstract

“…The first account of European introduction to avocado was in the early 16 th century in Santa Marta, a town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Spanish conquistadors studied the plant and brought the seeds back to the Old World (Aceituno and Loaiza, 2018;Zentmyer et al, 1987).…”

Section: A Susceptible Hostmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avocado Root Rot

Frankel¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, small avocado producers in coastal Colombia returned to their farms after decades of war to discover they must battle the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi devastating their trees. While this disease is well-described in the U.S., Australia, and Europe, no previous research has examined environmental correlates of P. cinnamomi in avocado in the diverse tropical agroecosystem of the Colombian Montes de Maria. I used agroecosystem inventory, in-field diagnostics and disease observations to describe avocado agroecosystem diversity and identify relationships among P. cinnamomi presence, root rot disease, slope, pH, soil compaction, elevation, and distance to household in remote smallholder farms in the coastal mountains of Colombia. I also evaluated accuracy of a locally accessible, low-cost bioassay for detecting the pathogen. Although P. cinnamomi proved to be ubiquitous in the region, soil compaction and increasing slope were both negatively related to disease incidence at the farm level, and some infected trees appeared healthy. Furthermore, the low-cost bioassay detected P. cinnamomi equally well as commercial immunostrips. As conflict reparations are negotiated in this remote region, small farmers should be compensated for retaining their highly diversified genetic stock, diverse cropping palettes, and indigenous techniques, as they may provide a refuge for avocado from the heavy disease burden in the steep and rocky growing terrain. v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Rachel O'Malley for her continued guidance, trust, and enthusiastic support throughout this process. I would like to acknowledge and thank my committee members, Dr. Will Russell and Dr. Jenny Broome for their support in designing this research and writing this thesis. This research would not have been possible without the support and guidance of the plant pathology team at Driscoll's and my in-country mentor, Lillian Hall as well as the Sembrando Paz organization, its employees, and all the farmers and their families who graciously allowed me to survey their farms, fed me and housed me. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and especially my fiancé, Dalton, for their continued love and support. vi Table of Contents List of Tables .

show abstract

The origins and early development of plant food production and farming in Colombian tropical forests

Cited by 24 publications

References 46 publications

The origins of Amazonian landscapes: Plant cultivation, domestication and the spread of food production in tropical South America

The origins of Amazonian landscapes: Plant cultivation, domestication and the spread of food production in tropical South America

Early Holocene crop cultivation and landscape modification in Amazonia

Avocado Root Rot

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About