More on intensive pre-Columbian settlement networks:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/06/ancient-garden-cities-amazon-indigenous-technologies-archaeology-lost-civilisations-environment-terra-preta
absolutely love this kind of thing...!
Ditto.
The regularity certainly suggests a degree of planning, which tends to imply a colonial origin for the settlements rather than growing organically from existing populations.
I wonder what happened to the indigenous population?
Quote from: Cantabrigian on Feb 07, 2025, 01:24 PMThe regularity certainly suggests a degree of planning, which tends to imply a colonial origin for the settlements rather than growing organically from existing populations.
I wonder what happened to the indigenous population?
Possibly what seems to have happened in post Roman Britain or the forests of what is now Russia when the Northmen came in - replacement of the old 'elite' but most people remain in place and the new 'elite' merges into the pool over time?
I suspect that 'colonial' is not the best word to use.
Clearly there is a level of control, but this is probably pre-existing and almost certainly fairly local.
Clearing a 'city' and rebuilding it was widespread practice across multiple cultures.