Many soil scientists insist an ancient Amerindian agrarian society will soon make a huge impact on the modern world. They say once the intricacies and formulation of the society’s “terra preta” (dark earth) is unlocked, the benefits will help stop environmental degradation and bring fertility to depleted soils. Developing and developed nations will benefit.
Orellana
The story goes that in 1542, while exploring the Amazon Basin near Ecuador in search of El Dorado, Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana began checking the area around one of the Amazon’s largest rivers, the Rio Negro. While he never found the legendary City of Gold, upon his return to Spain, Orellana reported the jungle area held an ancient civilization — a farming people, many villages and even massive, walled cities.
Later explorers and missionaries were unable to confirm Orellana’s reports. They said the cities weren’t there and only hunter-gatherer tribes roamed the jungles. Orellana’s claims were dismissed as myth.
Scientists who later considered Orellana’s claims agreed with the negative assessments. The key problem, they said, was large societies need much food, something Amazonia’s poor soils are simply incapable of producing. And without agriculture, large groups of people are unable to escape a nomadic existence, much less build cities.
Dark earth
More recently, though, Orellana’s supposed myths have evolved into distinct possibilities. The key part of the puzzle has to do with terra preta.
It turns out that vast patches of the mysterious, richly fertile, man-made soil can be found throughout Amazonia. Through plot work, researchers claim terra preta can increase yields 350 percent over adjacent, nutrient-leached soils.
Many well-respected researchers now say terra preta, most of it still hidden under jungle canopy, could have sustained large, agronomic societies throughout Brazil and neighboring countries.
Here is a picture of Terra Preta and normal soil...
A good read to know what happened back then..
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