Journal
ANTIQUITY
Volume 94, Issue 378, Pages 1538-1556Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2020.208
Keywords
Amazonia; Holocene; climate change; geoglyphs; land-use practices
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Funding
- Academy of Finland [2567481, 297161]
- Academy of Finland (AKA) [297161, 297161] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)
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Hypotheses concerning climatic change during the Amazonian Holocene often assume that the presence of ancient charcoal from forest fires indicates periods of drier climate in the past. These theories, however, neglect the possibility that such charcoal may result from early human activity. This article presents new evidence of anthropogenic ash and charcoal accumulation in the state of Acre, Brazil, dating back to c. 10 000 cal BP, which questions the value of charcoal as a proxy for phases of natural climate aridification. Carbon isotope (delta C-13) values also suggest no significant changes in Holocene climate or vegetation. If these results are confirmed, previous studies on Amazonian Holocene climate will require re-evaluation.
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