Ancient Amazonian farmers fortified valuable land they had spent years making fertile to protect it from conflict
Ancient Amazonian communities fortified valuable land they had spent years making fertile to protect it from conflict, excavations show.
Farmers in Bolivia constructed wooden defences around previously nutrient-poor tropical soils they had enriched over generations to keep them safe during times of social unrest.
These long-term soil management strategies allowed Amazonians to grow nutrient demanding crops, such as maize and manioc and fruiting trees, and this was key to community subsistence. These Amazonian Dark Earths, or
Terra Preta, were created through burning, mulching, and the deposition of organic waste.
Credit: Mark Robinson
Ancient Amazonian communities fortified valuable land they had spent years making fertile to protect it from conflict, excavations show.
Farmers in Bolivia constructed wooden defences around previously nutrient-poor tropical soils they had enriched over generations to keep them safe during times of social unrest.
These long-term soil management strategies allowed Amazonians to grow nutrient demanding crops, such as maize and manioc and fruiting trees, and this was key to community subsistence. These Amazonian Dark Earths, or Terra Preta, were created through burning, mulching, and the deposition of organic waste.
It was known that some communities built ditches and embankments, known locally as a zanja, around their settlements, which had suggested to act as a defensive structure. The examples from Bolivia were specifically constructed to also enclose the enriched soil and this is the first evidence of an additional fortification built in the ditch, demon
Brian Rochefort s first solo exhibition in Milan opens at Massimo De Carlo
Installation view by Roberto Marossi. Courtesy MASSIMODECARLO
MILAN
.-Massimo De Carlo is presenting Perhaps An Asteroid Hit, Brian Rocheforts first solo exhibition in Milan and the artists second show with the gallery.
Brian Rochefort is a mixed media sculptor based in Los Angeles, who masters the art of glazed and layered ceramic works with vibrant encrusted surfaces. Perhaps An Asteroid Hit is an ideal extension of Jaguar Jaguar, the first exhibition of the artist with the gallery, held in London between November 2019 and January 2020. Perhaps An Asteroid Hit comprises of a new series of twenty sculptures that resemble craters, oozing with vibrant colours mimicking the explosiveness of natural surroundings, nine vessel-like sculptures made of glazed stoneware and earthenware, and a maple wood cabinet consisting of thirty-five cups.