The Amazon rainforest is one of the most significant and largely intact ecosystems left on the earth. It is often characterized as an essentially untouched natural environment in which man's presence is merely secondary. However, vast reaches of the rainforest have been lived in and shaped by human hands for thousands of years. 
The Amazon River Basin boasts the largest river system on Earth and harbors an ecosystem that is tremendously complex. Early travelers from Renaissance Europe were overwhelmed by their first encounters. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro overthrew the Incan empire, removing the emperor from his throne and taking for Spain the Incan imperial treasures. A decade later his younger brother ventured east from the high plateau of the Andes Mountains in pursuit of the famous cities of gold and spices thought to be hidden in the jungle forest. Going down the river the expedition soon exhausted its supplies and a small group was sent ahead to search for food. Eight months later, this group emerged at the mouth of the Amazon, having made what would prove to be the first descent of the length of the river. A missionary who accompanied the group sent a remarkable account of their adventures to the Pope, including mention of the great signal drums that sounded from village to village far in advance of their arrival, warning of the coming of the European strangers. His manuscript records seeing innumerable settlements along the river — on one day they passed more than twenty villages in succession, and some of these are said to have stretched for six miles or more. Such reports have intrigued scientists ever since, for they describe dense populations and large federations of tribes which, if verified, would be entirely at odds with modern stereotypes of hidden, thinly scattered tribes scratching out an uncertain existence.
Beginning in the late seventeenth century, the successors to the first explorers recorded and collected many of the everyday objects fashioned from wood and other organic materials that usually rot in a tropical climate. Such collections housed in European museums preserve a "window" into cultures that were soon to experience huge changes brought about by foreign diseases and cruel abuse at the hands of Europeans. Population collapse and movement along the principal rivers of the Amazon system have contributed to a veil of misunderstanding that has long covered the cultural achievements of tropical forest societies. Diffuse bands hunting deep in the forest interior eventually came to be seen as the typical tropical forest adaptation. So much so that when archaeological studies began in earnest at the mouth of the Amazon in the 1950s, scientists argued that the sophisticated culture they were discovering could not have originated in the Amazon Basin itself, but must have been derived from more advanced cultures elsewhere. They imagined the tropical forest to be an "imitation paradise" unable to support much beyond a simple hunting-and-gathering way of life. This mistaken idea has exerted a persistent influence ever since.
Two factors have been instrumental in lifting the veil of misunderstanding. First is a surprisingly diverse range of ceramic styles. Recent research seems to confirm that a creative explosion of styles occurred about 2,000 years ago. Archaeological digs in the highest reaches of the Upper Amazon have demonstrated the existence of a widespread style of painting large watertight jars in bold black, red and cream designs. This same style has been found on an isle at the mouth of the Amazon, and appears to have its origins where the Amazon meets the ocean, later spreading across much of the Upper Amazon. The style transcends local and regional cultures and points to considerable intercourse between societies along the vast river network. 
Secondly, there is a truly impressive diversity of languages, with several hundred distinct tongues and dialects. This verbal diversity must have evolved over thousands of years and implies an occupation of the Amazon Basin for at least 14,000 years, a figure supported by archaeological evidence. The rock art in the Amazon Basin may be as old as human occupation itself. Images are carved and painted on exposed rock near rapids and waterfalls where fishing is most productive, and in caves and rock shelters close to archaeological sites.
Recent archaeological research has focused on a phenomenon barely noticed before: extensive patches of rich black soil found along the banks and on terraces above all major rivers in the Amazon. Some cover an area of many acres and are up to 6 feet deep. They are thought to have formed over many centuries as the accumulated product of organic remains left by native settlements. These soils are usually filled with fragments of busted ceramics and are now being studied for clues to the rise of tropical forest civilizations in the Amazon Basin. Local farmers regard the black soils as a "gift from the past" because they are naturally fertile and have the ability to support a wide range of crops. Among the most exciting discoveries are funeral jars dating to A.D. 1400 — 1700 found in caves and rock shelters near the mouth of the Amazon. The bones of men, women and children were preserved in individually dedicated vessels. It seems that the sites were visited regularly over the years and new jars added as family members expired. These burials reflect the family ties of ancient settlements and their nurturing of links between the living and the dead.
The native peoples of the Amazon can no longer be seen as isolated communities in the depths of the forest or dispersed along rivers. We still have much to learn about their societies, but the rainforest should no longer be seen as an untouched "paradise". The future of the Amazon Basin is now a subject of fierce debate. Knowledge about the past has a vital role to play in planning and decision making for the future. (Words: 1,011)Archaeology points to successful methods for adapting to the forest, grounded in practical expertise and empirical knowledge of the limitations and possibilities of this environment. These techniques for wise management are becoming a matter of global concern.
