October 4, 2024
by Dr. Robert Walker
2024 Ellen and Charles Steinmetz Endowment for Archaeology recipient, Dr. Robert Walker, provides an update on his field work.
Geoglyphs are massive earthworks constructed with ditches and mounds to create geometric shapes often interconnected with ancient road networks. The enigmatic geoglyphs of Amazonia showcase ancient indigenous social complexity and organization as they engineered ecosystems and made large-scale modifications to entire landscapes. Our international team of professionals and students (American, Brazilian, and Indigenous) spent two months investigating and documenting much of the geographic distribution of geoglyphs across the southern rim of Amazonia. We explored various interpretations of their significance and developed an interactive web tool to share results and promote the preservation of these important archaeological sites (https://robert-walker.shinyapps.io/ggshiny/). Now, over 1,300 geoglyphs and other ditched enclosures have been detected in satellite imagery, hundreds of which we were able to ground-truth and photograph with drone aerial imagery. Our methods not only help determine the geographic extent and variety of geoglyphs, but also help answer questions about the full degree of indigenous social complexity and landscape modification across Amazonia. Consequently, our project promotes the recognition and protection of ancient indigenous cultural heritage and significantly contributes to understanding pre-Columbian cultures.
