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Terras pretas (Amazonian Dark Earths) are a remarkable kind of archaeological site found in the Amazon region. Rich in cultural artifacts and other occupational debris, these dark anthropogenic soil matrices are very fertile, presenting high levels of organic carbon, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and manganese. Their high nutrient levels come from decomposed organic matter, including remains of fish, shellfish, game, and other refuse, while their dark color has been linked to residual charcoal from intentional fires associated with daily activities and landscape management. Studies of anthropogenic earths in the Amazon have a deep history, as much in the geosciences as in archaeology and other historical sciences. Terras pretas have been studied as evidence of a major shift in human–environment relations, but also within the lens of environmental resiliency and sustainability. We review representative studies from various disciplinary fields and trace the development of knowledge about terra preta. We present a growing consensus with regard to the origin and significance of anthropogenic soils, concomitant with increased efforts toward interdisciplinary study. We argue that terras pretas constitute a genuinely interdisciplinary research topic that bridges scientific and traditional knowledge and applied contexts.

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Historical ecologists have demonstrated legacy effects in apparently wild landscapes in Europe, North America, Mesoamerica, Amazonia, Africa and Oceania. People live and farm in archaeological sites today in many parts of the world, but nobody has looked for the legacies of past human occupations in the most dynamic areas in these sites: homegardens. Here we show that the useful flora of modern homegardens is partially a legacy of pre-Columbian occupations in Central Amazonia: the more complex the archaeological context, the more variable the floristic composition of useful native plants in homegardens cultivated there today. Species diversity was 10% higher in homegardens situated in multi-occupational archaeological contexts compared with homegardens situated in single-occupational ones. Species heterogeneity (β-diversity) among archaeological contexts was similar for the whole set of species, but markedly different when only native Amazonian species were included, suggesting the influence of pre-conquest indigenous occupations on current homegarden species composition. Our findings show that the legacy of pre-Columbian occupations is visible in the most dynamic of all agroecosystems, adding another dimension to the human footprint in the Amazonian landscape.