INDIGENOUS ENGINEERING OF THE LLANOS DE MOXOS (BOLIVIA): EVIDENCE OF AN ANTHROPOGENIC AMAZON

Archaeological research conducted since the 20th century in the eastern Bolivian plains highlights the process of anthropogenization established between the indigenous groups of the Llanos de Moxos and the Amazonian landscape during the pre-colonial period. These studies demonstrate the existence of an anthropogenic spatiality in Moxos, that is, an environment domesticated and improved by different human groups, some of probable Arawak ethnolinguistic origin. Thus, when the Spanish arrived in the Llanos de Moxos in the 16th century, they encountered traces of civilizations characterized by low-density agricultural urbanism. Based on a literature review of recent archaeological data, this study considers that the Llanos de Moxos hosted a sophisticated engineering system that addressed both survival needs and cosmological frameworks. This engineering involved the development of dikes, canals, artificial lakes, pyramids, and raised agricultural fields, within a subject–subject relationship with the landscape.