Landscape Changes and Place Making in Santarém Region, Lower Amazon, Brazil. From Late Pre-Columbian until Contact Periods

Despite an increase in the number of archaeological field projects in the Amazon region, few studies have analyzed landscape in order to understand the intricacies of political life of a given complex-society in the Amazonian prehistory. This research will focus on landscape formation and changes to decipher the degree to which the Tapajó group were politically centralized and hierarchically structured. It will also to contribute to the ongoing debate on the degree of human impacts and modification of the Amazonian landscape, in particular the Santarém region in the Lower Amazon. From the 10th to the 18th centuries, this region was inhabited by the Tapajó Indians, who produced the famous Santarém style ceramic. To fulfill the research objectives, settlement patterns and landscape modification of three areas (Flona- Tapajós, Belterra Plateau and Satarém) will be compared. In addition Geographical Information System spatial analysis will contribute to suggest how the Tapajó settlements were integrated and connected in terms of pathways and river networks.

Faculty Supervisor:

Edward Swenson

Student:

Partner:

Universidade Federal do Pará

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

University of Toronto

Program:

Globalink Research Award