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Rock art, trade routes, and languages in prehistoric Amazonia: Exploring correlations through GIS

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Author

  • Love Eriksen

Summary, in English

The aim of this paper is to investigate how Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping of materialized aspects of human culture in pre-conquest Amazonia can increase our understanding of the distribution of indigenous languages and ethno-linguistic entities. The main objective of the project is to build a GIS database for correlating geography, linguistics, material culture (e.g., ceramic styles, rock art styles, horticultural systems, etc.), trade routes, and political projects over time, in order to gain further understanding of the forces behind the extraordinary linguistic diversity in Amazonia. This presentation will exemplify this methodology, focusing on the relationship between symbolism (as expressed in the frog motive in rock art and green stone amulets), trade routes, and language families. By correlating the distribution of symbolic expressions, such as the frog motive, with known trade routes and the distribution of language families at the time of contact, it is possible to test or at least illuminate various hypotheses on the emergence and history of specific ethno-linguistic groups. One such hypothesis, offered here as an example, is that the wide distribution of Arawakan languages in greater Amazonia (from the Antilles to Bolivia) is the imprint not so much of ancient migrations as of a network of trade routes spanning much of the continent several centuries before European contact.

Department/s

Publishing year

2007

Language

English

Document type

Conference paper

Topic

  • Social and Economic Geography

Keywords

  • trans-disciplinary analyses
  • Prehistoric Amazonia
  • archaeology
  • geographical information system
  • GIS
  • material culture
  • ecology
  • ethno-linguistic groups
  • regional system integration
  • human ecology
  • humanekologi

Conference name

The Origin of Man, Language and Languages (OMLL) - Final Conference

Conference date

2007-12-12

Status

Unpublished