How the ancient Amazonians built earthworks to communicate with animals, departed spirits and stars
How the ancient Amazonians built earthworks to communicate with animals, departed spirits and stars
Enormous squares, octagons and circles dot the landscape between the Amazonian forests.
Martha Henriques By Martha Henriques
August 31, 2017 15:15 BST
Earthworks
The Amazonian geoglyphs seen from the air.
Sanna Saunaluoma
A beautiful, elaborate series of large earthworks in Brazil acted as doors and pathways for communicating with animals, departed spirits and celestial bodies, an anthropological study has found.
In the indigenous territories of south-west Amazonia, this massive series of ancient geometrical earthworks dominates the landscape. There are thought to be more than 500 geoglyphs in the region, including circular, square, octagonal and U-shaped mounds and trenches. They are up to several metres deep and cover hundreds of square metres.
They were involved in the ceremonies of ancestral indigenous people from about 3,000 years ago, until they fell out of use. Until now, much of what was known about the ancient history of this area had come from ceramics. Ceremonial pottery was found at the sites, with patterns that local people said related to rituals carried out, for example, at the time of puberty.
Working closely with the Apurina and Manchineri indigenous people of the area for 15 years, anthropologist Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen has been piecing together the roles of these structures. Virtanen's findings are published in a study in the journal American Anthropologist.
More:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-ancient-amazonians-built-earthworks-communicate-animals-departed-spirits-stars-1637433
Anthropology:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/12293312
