Pre-Columbian raised fields in Panama: First evidence

Abstract

This paper reports on the first documented evidence for Pre-Hispanic ridged fields in Panama (Chinina, Eastern Panama Province, Pacific), identified in online aerial photographs, and the results of the field work carried on in 2011. Aerial photography has been known as an extremely useful tool of archeological prospection for nearly one century. In recent years however it gained increasing importance by two reasons: First the availability of high quality aerial photographs via internet made it quite easy to start archeological surveys even in remote areas. Second archeological perspectives on past human societies changed in recent decades. Modern ecological problems caused an increasing interest in landscape archeology. In Panama, archaeobotanical and paleoecological studies were carried out by Dolores Piperno and her team, already since the 1980s. The results of this research contributed to understanding American agricultural development especially related to the manipulation and domestication of plants and human/environmental interactions. However, despite this important role of the Panamanian evidence for the overall discussion of the development of agriculture in tropical environments, there has been little data generated on agricultural practice and land use pattern until this project.