Black Earth
Terra Preta de Indio, Indian Black Earth, is the local name for certain dark earths in the Brazilian Amazon region. Although the rainforest soil appears to be fertile, actually it is truly unfertile. The rainforests soil is unsuited to farming mainly because of the persistent rain washing away all nutrients. But those pockets of soil that are Terra Preta, are suitable for farming and thus form an out of place patch of fertility in an otherwise harsh environment. Plots of Terra Preta exist in small surfaces averaging 20 hectares. They are found among various climatic, geological and topographical situations. Their distribution either follows main water courses, from East Amazonia to the central basin of Amazonia.
The Spanish
The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the Iberian peninsula of southwes...
explorer Francisco de Orellana
Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish explorer and conquistador....
, the 16th century explorer who was the first European to transverse the Amazon River
The Amazon River or River Amazon; Spanish: Ro Amazonas, Portuguese: Rio Amazonas) of South America is the seco...
, reported densely populated regions running miles along the river, suggesting population levels exceeding even those of today. This suggests they once were more settled and agrarian probably due to Terra Preta, but after the demographic collapse
Millions of indigenous people lived in the Americas when Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage began an historical period of large-sc...
of the 16th and 17th century due to European introduced diseases they reverted to less complex modes of existence but maintained certain traditions.
Terra Preta soils are of pre Columbian nature and were created by man between 7000 BP and 500 BP. The soil can reach a depth of 6 feet. This particular soil has a reputation of being known as a self regenerating soil. The local farmers say that the soil...