Pre-columbian urbanism, anthropogenic landscapes, and the future of the Amazon

The archaeology of pre- Columbian polities in the Amazon River basin forces a reconsideration of early urbanism and long- term change in tropical forest landscapes. We describe settlement and land- use patterns of complex societies on the eve of European contact ( after 1492) in the Upper Xingu region of the Brazilian Amazon. These societies were organized in articulated clusters, representing small independent polities, within a regional peer polity. These patterns constitute a galactic form of prehistoric urbanism, sharing features with small- scale urban polities in other areas. Understanding long- term change in coupled human- environment systems relating to these societies has implications for conservation and sustainable development, notably to control ecological degradation and maintain regional biodiversity.