Week 7: Slide (18-20) Amazonia

Question 1

What is “Terra Preta” in the context of Amazonian agriculture?

A) A type of crop grown by indigenous people

B) Fertile soil created through human intervention

C) The name of a large Amazonian settlement

D) An Amazonian deity worshipped by natives

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Fill-in-the-Blank
Q: Excavations in the 1980s revealed Amazonian societies with population estimates around _____ million.

Answer 2

20

Question 3

What does the term “built environment” imply about the Amazonian indigenous societies?

Answer 3

It implies that these societies transformed their environments to support large, population-dense urban centers rather than just small, semi-nomadic groups.

Question 4

Arrange these in chronological order:
A) Recognition of the built environment concept
B) Excavations beginning in the 1980s
C) Discovery of Terra Preta sites

Answer 4

B → C → A

Question 5

Why was there resistance to the idea of a population-dense Amazonian civilization?

A) Lack of evidence

B) Belief that the rainforest was unsuitable for agriculture

C) Archaeological limitations and bias

D) None of the above

Answer 5

C

Question 6

Why is the “culture war” significant in the study of Amazonian built environments?

Answer 6

The “culture war” reflects the debate over whether to view Amazonian societies as small, primitive groups or as advanced civilizations that significantly altered their environment.

Question 7

Fill-in-the-Blank

__________ was a human-made soil that supported agriculture in Amazonian societies.

Answer 7

Terra Preta

Question 8

True or False

The concept of a built environment in Amazonia suggests that natives lived only in small, semi-nomadic groups.

Answer 8

False

Reason: Archaeological evidence shows that Amazonian societies developed large, population-dense urban centers, demonstrating that they practiced advanced forms of agriculture and environmental management.

Question 9

True or False

Amazonian societies created a sustainable agricultural system using Terra Preta soil.

Answer 9

True

Reason: Terra Preta soil, a type of fertile soil created through human intervention, allowed Amazonian societies to support large populations through sustainable agriculture, as it retained nutrients and supported crop growth better than natural soils in the rainforest.

Question 10

Why did it take so long for the conceptual leap about Amazonian built environments to develop?

A) Lack of evidence of Terra Preta soil until the 2000s

B) Belief that Amazonian natives could not create complex societies

C) Archaeological limitations and cultural biases viewing Amazonian natives as primitive

D) Amazonian climate made it impossible to develop sustainable agriculture

Answer 10

C