February 26, 2013
PCRG COMPLETE AGAIN
I am glad to say that after almost two months out of the office running around with 8 bags of equipment, Frazer and I have finished our tour of the Americas. As the work has been so diverse, we would like to split our comments and impressions into two different posts, we hope you enjoy them!
February 15, 2013
Bush, M.B., Gosling, W.D. & Colinvaux, P.A. (2007) Climate change in the lowlands of the Amazon Basin. Tropical rainforest responses to climatic change (ed. by M.B. Bush and J.R. Flenley), pp. 55-79. Springer/Praxis, Chichester. [NOW 2ND EDITION]
Bush, M.B., Silman, M.R., De Toledo, M.B., Listopad, C., Gosling, W.D., Williams, C., De Olivera, P.E. & Krisel, C. (2007) Holocene fire and occupation in Amazonia: Records from two lake districts. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (B), 362, 209-218
May 16, 2012
Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space & Astronomical Research invited lecture
Amazonia before Columbus – Virgin Wilderness or Domesticated Landscape?
Francis Mayle (University of Edinburgh)
Tuesday 22nd May, 11.15am
The Open University, Milton Keynes
Abstract
Amazonia has long been considered to be a pristine wilderness, largely untouched by human activity, supporting small, scattered indigenous tribes living in harmony with their rainforest environment.
However, recent discoveries of massive geometric earthworks, revealed by deforestation in recent decades, are challenging this ‘virgin wilderness’ paradigm and pointing to substantially greater environmental impacts by pre-Columbian societies than previously supposed.
In my talk I review these archaeological discoveries and discuss how a combined palaeoecological-archaeological approach has the potential to resolve the scale of environmental land use and disturbance associated with these ancient cultures. I also consider the implications of these findings for understanding rainforest ecology and biodiversity, as well as conservation policy.
If you are external to The Open University and wish to attend this lecture please contact William Gosling in advance.
Ecology of the past 