Ancient agriculture and forest management in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, southern Amazonia: a paleoecological and archaeobotanical approach

• Grant number: 25/10340-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Jennifer Watling
• Grantee: Diana Mirela da Silva Toso
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 25/01239-4 - Voices of Indigenous Amazonia: historical processes of sociobiodiversity in the face of the challenges of the Anthropocene, AP.R

Abstract

The present project seeks to understand the nature and spatial distribution of past agricultural and forest management practices in the Xingu Indigenous Territory (TIX), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Over thirty years of collaborative archaeological research with the Kuikuro has identified dozens of pre-Columbian settlement sites, ritual centres, roads, paths, and associated Dark Earth patches dating from ca. 800 CE, making the cultural heritage of this region arguably the best-mapped in Amazonia. It is understood that around ca. 1200 CE, a peak in the size and complexity of indigenous occupations was reached in the TIX, and that those populations are the direct ancestors of the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual Xinguano groups that reside there today. While there is little doubt that these populations transformed regional biodiversity through their agricultural and forest management practices, paleoecological and archaeobotanical research to investigate this topic is only just getting underway. Worried about the future of their traditional lifeways in the face of climate change and the encroachment of deforestation for industrial farming, the Kuikuro - and other ethnicities within the TIX - are keen to learn from the sustainable practices of their ancestors to forge new paths of resistance for the future. With this in mind, the post-doc hired for this project will be responsible for designing and carrying out paleoecological and archaeobotanical sampling and analysis in the TIX with the goal of contributing to the following research questions: 1) What was the nature of the vegetation transformations implemented by pre-Columbian Xinguano societies, and what are their modern legacy? 2) How do these transformations differ from those implemented by Xinguano populations today, in terms of both nature and scale? 3) Were the plants consumed and used by pre-Columbian populations the same as today, i.e. was manioc a staple food? 4) What can we learn about the ubiquity of fire in the pre-Columbian vs. modern landscape, and how can this be applied to present-day fire mitigation? The researcher will carry out phytolith and charcoal analysis on bulk soil samples collected in strategic on- and off-site locations, and choose and prepare samples for complementary analyses (C14 dating, granulometry, soil geochemistry, etc). They will also be expected to collaborate closely with members of the Voices of Indigenous Amazonia project, carry out fieldwork expeditions, and gather, curate and publish results according to pre-agreed consent protocols with the Kuikuro Indigenous Association (AIKAX). (AU)