Excavations in the mounds or 'hills' near the town of Casarabe, in Beni, give new 'lights' on the culture that lived there. Recovered more than 50,000 ceramic fragments were found graves. The shaman is a possible the most striking. The findings reframe many hypotheses. The research in the region entered a new phase from the findings.
For many years, archaeological investigations of the Andean cultures were like a huge mountain that overshadowed the work carried out in the Bolivian Amazon and in particular the extensive plains of Beni Moxos. This great mountain, often high on the basis of prejudice and lack of information, was countered by researchers throughout the twentieth century tried to show that this region, especially the mounds or hills preserved a rich cultural heritage, no less important than other parts of the country. However, even today there are very few scientific analysis have clarified the role that these artificial structures have for the society or societies that have lived and continued to generate endless speculation. Much of those hills suffered erosion, were used for agriculture and have been victims of illegal plunder.
One of the attempts to remove the mystery of the shadows that hide the Plains is the project Moxos Casarabe Lomas, who earlier excavations concluded this month in one of the mounds near the village of the same name, which, among other things, has revealed that there was human presence in a period of 1,000 years, rescued valuable fragments of pottery and conducted the first scientific excavations of burials human.
Casarabe's population is located 50 miles east of the city of Trinidad. Rise in the surrounding territories prehispanic mounds which can reach over 20 meters high. In two cases, Loma and Loma Salvatierra Mendoza has worked on integrated project by researchers from the German Archaeological Institute and the National Unity of Archaeology of Bolivia.
In 1999 started the picking up of materials in the Loma Mendoza (5 meters high) and cut as is also known, as it was partly destroyed in the construction of the road between Santa Cruz and Trinidad. The data search was conducted for four years until they decided to begin excavations at Loma Salvatierra (8 meters high), where they worked for another three.
The first step was to show that the mounds studied were not formed by natural processes, such as the hypothesis of archaeologists Bernard Dougherty and Horacio Calandra who questioned the artificiality of the hills of Beni after their research in the 80's. "We found that the ceramics, bones humans, animals and the same rubbish were the product of human settlements from 400 to 1,400 AD and superimposed platforms were built over time. In the case of the Loma Salvatierra, for example, the housing sector is on a terrace in the center of the site and no other party has served almost exclusively as a cemetery, "says Heiko Prümers German archaeologist, project director.
A new feature of these excavations was to find ceramic very different from those found in regions such as Bella Vista and San Ignacio, which experts project to encourage them to support the idea that the region had a cultural unity and more cohabit rather than several in the region and at the same time. "The cultural diversity seems to be one of the characteristics of what we now call Moxos, because there are marked differences not only reflected in the variety of ceramics, but also the existence of Lomas large an area, while another prevalent bunds or embankments. Perhaps many have believed that being a large plateau and having a river like the Mamore that crosses through the middle, were a single culture, "says Prümers.
Moxos The plains are characterized by grassland and savannah woodland, which cover much of its territory and menor cantidad tiene montes, lagunas y ríos. Las lomas artificiales son parte inseparable de su paisaje. El primero en investigarlas científicamente fue el noruego Erland Nordenskiöld que a principios del siglo XX realizó excavaciones en las lomas Hernmarck, Velarde y Masicito. En ellas encontró cerámicas que tenían vinculaciones estilísticas con otras culturas amazónicas. Otro gran difusor de la riqueza cultural de la zona fue el ingeniero estadounidense Keenneth Lee, que vivió en Beni hasta fines de los 90 y que creía que los antiguos mojeños eran pueblos que habían sabido controlar las épocas de sequía y de inundaciones gracias a sistemas hidráulicos en los que estaban involucrados las lomas, terraplenes and ridges. Lee also felt that in Beni territory were 20 000 mounds of various sizes. A figure that has not been confirmed, and some scientists seem exaggerated.
Another research contributions in the Loma Salvatierra is that there is an embankment around the site polygon enclosing an area of \u200b\u200b20 hectares that were discovered through satellite images and field work was done by Umberto Lombardo. "From what we've seen the hill is not only the mound, but a structural complex that includes creeks, canal systems and polygon fill. In addition to a clear contact and communication between the hills of the area, "explains the researcher. The project is co-director of the Bolivian Carla Jaimes, who was responsible for analyzing ceramic artifacts were recovered. Until the end of the excavation were more than 50 000 pieces of parts, the archaeologist with a group of seven assistants was in charge of sorting. Jaimes said they could find six chronological phases of ceramics. This means that the 1,000 years of occupation can be seen how they have changed shape and features in the various occupations that took the mound. But, according to the researcher, pottery was not the most important material, "certainly had beautiful objects made of wood, fruits and other organic elements. Being in the tropics is logical that they have worked with wood bibosi, mara, chonta and baskets have been woven together, because we have found pottery spinning wheels, which is proof that spun. That is perhaps used for storage or cooking liquid, "Jaimes said, adding that figurines were also found dolls or figurines, which from the context where they are found they had a domestic function and not of divinity as was initially believed.
Jaimesindicates that pottery in the Amazon has the characteristics of subsection dots. is, they are techniques in which when the ceramic is dry it makes your incisions with a sharp object and you draw triangles, lines and other figures. Point is when we used the fingers or other material to points around the vessel. Preconceptions have gotten into the same bag to ceramics dotted subsection of the Amazon, yet within this technique has shown a lot of variants and Moxos are no exception. Those found in Loma Salvatierra Mendoza and are similar but are very different from those who have recovered in other areas, so that the archaeologist can not speak of a single culture in the region but of many.
The project Lomas de Casarabe unearthed about 80 human skeletons. The funny thing is that the bodies were buried in different positions and the only common pattern found was the guidance given to the graves that were in north-south direction. Most striking was the discovery of a skeleton that apparently belonged to an important figure in the society in which he lived. This has been acknowledged by the decorations he wore when he was buried. The skeleton was taken to Germany for study and has been found that were between 35 to 40 years. Beads carrying tusks of tiger and other items found Prümers very similar to a photo of 30's of a shaman in Ecuador. The truth is the body is still under study and expect to provide new data.
German archaeologist says he will return next year to make a final analysis and then prepare the publication of its results. He also clarified that this is just one of the first steps to learn about the cultures that settled Moxos and there are still many hills to study. Other groups of archaeologists will have the task of following the path initiated by the Lomas de Casarabe project.
fieldwork and other data
The project worked in recent years in the Loma Salvatierra in dry season. There were three straight months of excavations. The pieces found were then washed with water and brushes. The pottery shards were falling, drawings, photographs and if all parties were restored.
- The pottery recovered is given to the Museum Beni ethnoarchaeological Kenneth Lee.
- There were three five-hole flute made from animal bones. Two were at a funeral and the other in another context.
- The remains of animals and some of the garbage is also analyzed, because they weather patterns and characteristics of each period.
- In the body of possible 'Shaman' is found small pieces of copper. A material not found in the region. These materials are still being analyzed.
- The historic distribution of speakers of Arawak has many similarities with the cultures of archaeological mounds. More recent studies show that the distribution of pre-Hispanic hills and ridges also has elements in common with non-Arawak groups such as Pano, Tupi-Guarani and unclassified groups, the researchers said Clark Erickson.
Article by Ricardo Herrera F. / Of Duty The Extra magazine OH!, On Sunday, October 29, 2006. / Photo German Archaeological Institute.
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