Biocultural Heritage and the Deep History of the Llanos de Moxos: Lessons from the Bolivian Amazon

Описание: Biocultural Heritage and the Deep History of the Llanos de Moxos: Lessons from the Bolivian Amazon

Dr. Carla Jaimes Betancourt - Department of Anthropology of the Americas, University of Bonn, Germany

The Llanos de Moxos, a vast seasonally flooded savanna in the Bolivian Amazon, is home to one of the world’s most remarkable biocultural landscapes. Over thousands of years, its inhabitants transformed wetlands into a mosaic of monumental earthworks, raised fields, causeways, and forest islands, creating a dynamic interaction between people and their environment. These long-term processes of landscape domestication reveal a deep history of human ingenuity and adaptation to challenging conditions.

Recent research using LiDAR technology and archaeological excavations has uncovered a previously unknown form of low-density urbanism associated with the Casarabe culture (AD 500–1400). Monumental centers, interconnected by causeways and hydraulic systems, reshaped the seasonally flooded plain into a carefully managed and inhabited landscape. This talk will present the most recent findings on earthen architecture, water management, and subsistence strategies, highlighting their significance within the region’s biocultural heritage. Finally, it will reflect on how this deep history informs contemporary debates on heritage, conservation, and global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

Carla Jaimes Betancourt is a professor in the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn in Germany. Specializing in Amazonian archaeology, she has directed research in the Llanos de Moxos in Bolivia. There, she uses LiDAR technology, excavations, and interdisciplinary approaches to document monumental landscapes, low-density urbanism, and long-term processes of landscape domestication. She integrates archaeological research with local perspectives to emphasize the importance of biocultural heritage and explore how Amazonian histories contribute to current discussions about sustainability and conservation.

Presented to the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society (PCAS) on January 8, 2026.

For additional information on the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society, see the PCAS website at www.pcas.org