Scientists have found in the Amazonian forests of unusual artifacts

In the Amazon, is dominated by plants, domesticated by ancient South American civilizations.

An international team of researchers found that many plants that were domesticated by ancient South American civilizations, is dominated by Amazon until now.

The findings of scientists was published in the journal Science. The pre-Columbian inhabitants of South America began to domesticate plants on the borders of the Amazonian forests about eight thousand years ago.

Many of the species domesticated then, continue to be cultivated by descendants of South American Indians today. In the study, researchers compiled a list of 85 of the Amazonian species, bearing signs of domestication – such as especially large and tasty fruits.

Many of these species can also survive in the wild, without human care, indicating that at the early stage of their “domestic nature”. After analyzing the distribution and abundance of these 85 species, the scientists found that 20 of them are hyperdominant, i.e. about 50% of the trees in the area.

The authors then compared the prevalence of these types in places uninhabited in the pre-Columbian time and in the area around 3348 archaeological sites. It turned out that domesticated species, such as, for example, Brazilian walnut (bertholletia), more numerous not only in the sites of former settlements but also in the surrounding forest areas.

In some forest areas the predominance of domesticated trees was particularly strong. For example, in several lenych regions in Bolivia domesticated plants made up 61% of the total diversity. As the authors of the study, despite the fact that a large part of the heritage of pre-Columbian South America was lost with the arrival of Europeans, the impact they have had on plant diversity, still remains in the Amazon.

Previously, the researchers found that the Aztecs ate came to win them the Spaniards. Historians excavated the settlements of the Aztecs and their friendly tribes residing East of Mexico city. In it, scientists have discovered the remains of 15 of the Spaniards and their allies – 45 Cubans of African and Indian descent, women, children and the 350 other people, including who agreed to cooperate with the conquistadors the Maya. Scientists have counted about 550 people.

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