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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Archaeol.

Sec. Landscape and Geological Processes

Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fearc.2025.1662950

This article is part of the Research TopicNew Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Land Use Dynamics in the Andes during the Late HoloceneView all 10 articles

Historic landscapes, diversified livelihoods in the southwestern Amazon: The case of Lake Rogaguado and Lake Ginebra (Bolivia)

Provisionally accepted
Carla  Jaimes BetancourtCarla Jaimes Betancourt1*Geraldine Paloma  Fernandez SelaezGeraldine Paloma Fernandez Selaez1Myrtle  P. ShockMyrtle P. Shock2Hortensia  Nina VargasHortensia Nina Vargas3Henry  DelgadilloHenry Delgadillo4Gabriela  Prestes-CarneiroGabriela Prestes-Carneiro5Andrea  LimaAndrea Lima3Vinicius  Miranda NunesVinicius Miranda Nunes6Renan  Torrico PalaciosRenan Torrico Palacios7
  • 1Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • 2Universidade Federal do Oeste do Para, Santarém, Brazil
  • 3Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia
  • 4Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, United States
  • 5Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
  • 6Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 7Enclave, Cochabamba, Bolivia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

This article presents the results of interdisciplinary and collaborative research conducted around Lakes Rogaguado and Ginebra, located in the north-central sector of the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia—an area with limited archaeological exploration but prominent in ethnohistoric accounts related to the legendary "Great Paititi." Through systematic surveys, excavations, analyses of ceramics, zooarchaeological and paleoethnobotanical remains, and LiDAR mapping—carried out in dialogue with Cayubaba and Movima Indigenous communities—we identified monumental earthen architecture, raised agricultural fields, complex hydraulic systems, and a remarkable diversity in the use of local fauna and flora. The data reveal at least three main phases of pre-Hispanic occupation, each with distinct spatial and chronological patterns. At the Paquío site near Lake Rogaguado, two of these phases were documented: an early occupation around AD 600, possibly contemporaneous with the San Juan site, and a later, more intensive occupation between AD 1000 and 1200. This later phase is characterized by a higher density of ceramics, faunal and botanical remains, maize-based agriculture, and an elaborate hydraulic network associated with raised fields. In contrast, at the Jasschaja site, only the third phase of occupation was identified, dated to AD 1300–1400. Located near the El Cerro site on the eastern shore of Lake Ginebra, this phase shows broader landscape modifications, a greater diversity of plant use, and reduced faunal representation, suggesting an economy increasingly focused on the intensive management of cultivated and wild plant species. These differences reflect not only specific ecological adaptations but also broader transformations in social organization, settlement dynamics, and landscape management over time. By integrating archaeological, historical, and ethnographic evidence, this study repositions this region as a key node within the political, economic, and symbolic networks of the southwestern Amazon, shaped by continuous processes of mobility and landscape modification. This research underscores the importance of interdisciplinary, multiscalar, and community-engaged approaches for reconstructing socio-environmental dynamics of the Late Holocene in the Neotropics. It also offers new insights for the recognition of biocultural heritage and the pursuit of territorial justice in rapidly changing contexts.

Keywords: historic landscapes, diversified livelihoods, Southwestern Amazon, Lake Rogaguado, Lake Ginebra, Bolivia

Received: 09 Jul 2025; Accepted: 22 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Jaimes Betancourt, Fernandez Selaez, Shock, Nina Vargas, Delgadillo, Prestes-Carneiro, Lima, Miranda Nunes and Torrico Palacios. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Carla Jaimes Betancourt, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Bonn, Germany

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