Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos

Abstract

Recent archaeological research in the western Venezuelan llanos has provided very old dates related to maize cultivation. The evidence obtained at Mound I, at the site Hato de la Calzada, indicates that these seasonally flooded savannas were occupied from 920 B.C. to A.D. 500 by the Caño del Oso people who practiced hunting, fishing, and maize farming. Around A.D. 500 manioc cultivation and artificial earthworks were introduced in this area. Both elements were probably obtained from the Arauquinoid people who inhabited the Orinoco riverbanks. The available data regarding the antiquity of manioc, based on agricultural systems in seasonally flooded savannas of South America, suggests that such systems developed in the Amazon Basin.