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59-680: The Yawalapiti live in the Xingu Indian Park , in Upper Xingu region along with Kiabi, Yudja and Suya tribes. The ways of life of these four tribes are quite similar despite having different languages. Their villages are situated around Lake Ipavu, which is six kilometres from the Kuluene River . The Yawalapiti language is a Central Maipuran , part of the Maipuran language family, which are Arawakan languages . Yawalapiti

118-587: A biotope . Several experiments demonstrate that uncharged charcoal can bring a temporary depletion of available nutrients when first put into the soil, that is until its pores fill with nutrients. This is overcome by soaking the charcoal for two to four weeks in any liquid nutrient (urine, plant tea, worm tea, etc.). Charcoal's porosity brings better retention of organic matter, of water and of dissolved nutrients, as well as of pollutants such as pesticides and aromatic poly-cyclic hydrocarbons. Charcoal's high absorption potential of organic molecules (and of water)

177-483: A carbon content ranging from high to very high (more than 13–14% organic matter) in its A horizon, but without hydromorphic characteristics. Terra preta presents important variants. For instance, gardens close to dwellings received more nutrients than fields farther away. The variations in Amazonian dark earths prevent clearly determining whether all of them were intentionally created for soil improvement or whether

236-447: A language isolate ) are spoken in the park. Indigenous languages spoken in the southern part of the park (Upper Xingu) are: Indigenous languages spoken in the northern part of the park (Lower Xingu) are: In the northern park of the park, only Trumai has been spoken in the area for a considerable amount of time. All other languages in the area are from relatively recent arrivals. There are approximately 50 indigenous villages in

295-658: A São Paulo teaching hospital, whereby for over fifty years teams of volunteer doctors have inoculated and tended the Xingu peoples to the highest medical standards. In June 1925 the British artillery Lt.-Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett visited the upper Xingu with his son and son's friend, by the same trail and river route used by all previous visitors. They spent a few days with the Aweti and Kalapalo peoples before either being killed by one of these tribes or continuing their journey into

354-421: A better retention of these nutrients, than surrounding infertile soils. The proportion of P reaches 200–400 mg/kg. The quantity of N is also higher in anthrosol, but that nutrient is immobilized because of the high proportion of C over N in the soil. Anthrosol's availability of P , Ca , Mn and Zn is higher than ferrasol. The absorption of P, K , Ca, Zn , and Cu by the plants increases when

413-652: A common presence of pottery remains can accrete accidentally near living quarters as residues from food preparation, cooking fires, animal and fish bones , broken pottery, etc., accumulated. Many terra preta soil structures are now thought to have formed under kitchen middens , as well as being manufactured intentionally on larger scales. Farmed areas around living areas are referred to as terra mulata . Terra mulata soils are more fertile than surrounding soils but less fertile than terra preta , and were most likely intentionally improved using charcoal. This type of soil appeared between 450 BCE and 950 CE at sites throughout

472-482: A minimum proportion of organic matter over 2.0–2.5%. The accumulation of organic matter in moist tropical soils is a paradox, because of optimum conditions for organic matter degradation. It is remarkable that anthrosols regenerate in spite of these tropical conditions' prevalence and their fast mineralisation rates. The stability of organic matter is mainly because the biomass is only partially consumed. Terra preta soils also show higher quantities of nutrients, and

531-562: A series of charcoal derivatives known as pyrogenic or black carbon , the composition of which varies from lightly charred organic matter, to soot particles rich in graphite formed by recomposition of free radicals . All types of carbonized materials are called charcoal. By convention, charcoal is considered to be any natural organic matter transformed thermally or by a dehydration reaction with an oxygen/carbon (O/C) ratio less than 60; smaller values have been suggested. Because of possible interactions with minerals and organic matter from

590-539: Is terra preta do índio or terra preta de índio ("black soil of the Indian ", "Indians' black earth"). Terra mulata (" mulatto earth") is lighter or brownish in color. Terra preta owes its characteristic black color to its weathered charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bones, broken pottery, compost and manure to the low fertility Amazonian soil. A product of indigenous Amazonian soil management and slash-and-char agriculture,

649-494: Is capable of decreasing soil acidity and if soaked in nutrient rich liquid can slowly release nutrients and provide habitat for microbes in soil due to its high porosity surface area. The goal is an economically viable process that could be included in modern agriculture. Average poor tropical soils are easily enrichable to terra preta nova by the addition of charcoal and condensed smoke. Terra preta may be an important avenue of future carbon sequestration while reversing

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708-606: Is characterized by poly-condensed aromatic groups that provide prolonged biological and chemical stability against microbial degradation; it also provides, after partial oxidation, the highest nutrient retention. Low temperature charcoal (but not that from grasses or high cellulose materials) has an internal layer of biological petroleum condensates that the bacteria consume, and is similar to cellulose in its effects on microbial growth. Charring at high temperature consumes that layer and brings little increase in soil fertility. The formation of condensed aromatic structures depends on

767-416: Is due to its porous structure. Terra preta 's high concentration of charcoal supports a high concentration of organic matter (on average three times more than in the surrounding poor soils), up to 150 g/kg. Organic matter can be found at 1 to 2 metres (3 ft 3 in to 6 ft 7 in) deep. Bechtold proposes to use terra preta for soils that show, at 50 centimeters (20 in) depth,

826-407: Is found to be low about 10 days after production compared to that in control soils. A newly coined term is 'synthetic terra preta '. STP is a fertilizer consisting of materials thought to replicate the original materials, including crushed clay, blood and bone meal, manure and biochar is of particulate nature and capable of moving down the soil profile and improving soil fertility and carbon in

885-408: Is minimal in this anthrosol, despite their abundance, resulting in high fertility. When inorganic nutrients are applied to the soil, however, the nutrients' drainage in anthrosol exceeds that in fertilized ferralsol. As potential sources of nutrients, only C (via photosynthesis ) and N (from biological fixation) can be produced in situ . All the other elements (P, K, Ca, Mg, etc.) must be present in

944-557: Is of great interest because its rich indigenous cultures escaped devastation by Europeans and their diseases, thanks to a lack of rubber or mineral resources in the region, and a waterfall-rapid barrier on the Xingu River. The first explorer to contact and write about the people of the region was the German anthropologist Karl von den Steinen in the 1880s, followed by short visits by other anthropologists and government surveyors. But

1003-447: Is performed to honour the dead tribe members. It is held together with neighbouring tribes. Xingu Indian Park The Xingu Indigenous Park ( Parque Indígena do Xingu , pronounced [ʃiŋˈɡu] ) is an indigenous territory of Brazil, first created in 1961 as a national park in the state of Mato Grosso , Brazil. Its official purposes are to protect the environment and the several nations of Xingu Indigenous peoples in

1062-523: Is related to the Waurá and Mehináku languages . Typical to Upper Xingu tribes, the Yawalapiti village is circular in shape and has communal houses surrounding a square (uikúka) cleared of vegetation. In the center of the square is the men's house: frequented only by the men and where the sacred flutes are stored and played. It is in this house, or at river banks nearby, that the men congregate to talk in

1121-531: Is reported to regenerate itself at the rate of 1 centimeter (0.4 in) per year. The origins of the Amazonian dark earths were not immediately clear to later settlers. One idea was that they resulted from ashfall from volcanoes in the Andes , since they occur more frequently on the brows of higher terraces. Another theory considered its formation to be a result of sedimentation in tertiary lakes or in recent ponds. Soils with elevated charcoal content and

1180-475: Is widespread in Amazonia and notably in clearings after burning processes thanks to its tolerance of a low content of organic matter in the soil. This as an essential element in the generation of terra preta , associated with agronomic knowledge involving layering the charcoal in thin regular layers favorable to its burying by P. corethrurus . Some ants are repelled from fresh terra preta ; their density

1239-477: The Amazon Basin . Recent research has reported that terra preta may be of natural origin, suggesting that pre-Columbian people intentionally utilized and improved existing areas of soil fertility scattered among areas of lower fertility. Amazonians formed complex, large-scale social formations, including chiefdoms (particularly in the inter-fluvial regions) and even large towns and cities. For instance,

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1298-687: The Llanos de Moxos of Bolivia, Ecuador , Peru and French Guiana , and on the African continent in Benin , Liberia , and the South African savannas . In the international soil classification system World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) Terra preta is called Pretic Anthrosol . The most common original soil before transformed into a terra preta is the Ferralsol . Terra preta has

1357-466: The 1925 incursion to the Xingu. The disappearance of a British lieutenant-colonel, seeking a mystical city in Amazonian forests, caused a media sensation. David Grann wrote an article about this exploration, followed by an expanded book, The Lost City of Z (2009). List of indigenous ethnic groups in the park, along with their respective populations as of 2011: 14 indigenous languages belonging to 5 different language families (including Trumai ,

1416-628: The Amazon are productive for a short period of time before their nutrients are consumed or leached away by rain or flooding. This forces farmers to migrate to an unburned area and clear it (by fire). Terra preta is less prone to nutrient leaching because of its high concentration of charcoal, microbial life and organic matter. The combination accumulates nutrients, minerals and microorganisms and withstands leaching. Terra preta soils were created by farming communities between 450 BCE and 950 CE. Soil depths can reach 2 meters (6.6 ft). It

1475-595: The Sachamama Center for Biocultural Regeneration in High Amazon, Peru. This area has many terra preta soil zones, demonstrating that this anthrosol was created not only in the Amazon basin, but also at higher elevations. A synthetic terra preta process was developed by Alfons-Eduard Krieger to produce a high humus, nutrient-rich, water-adsorbing soil. Terra preta sanitation (TPS) systems have been studied as an alternative sanitation option by using

1534-587: The Trumai and Suya. In the next 20 years other explorers entered the area, several of whom died. Percy Fawcett disappeared there in 1925. The national park was created after a campaign by the Villas-Bôas brothers for the protection of the region. An account of the exploration of this area by the Villas-Bôas brothers and their efforts to protect the region is documented in the film Xingu (2011) and in

1593-650: The Villas-Bôas brothers, are now spokesmen for all Brazil's indigenous peoples on a world stage. Ever since the late 1970s the Director of the Xingu Indigenous Park has been indigenous, chosen by the area's chiefs. In the sixty years after contact with Von den Steinen, the Xingu peoples had been struck by alien diseases such as measles and influenza that reduced their small populations by two-thirds. The Villas-Bôas brothers completely reversed this decline through an agreement with Professor Roberto Baruzzi of

1652-500: The Yawalapiti and Europeans occurred in 1887, when they had been visited by Karl von den Steinen 's expedition. In this period, they were located in the high course of the Tuatuari river, in a region between lagoons and quagmires identified by the Yawalapiti as a small farm. The German anthropologist's impression of these Indians was that of poverty, a people who had insufficient food to offer visitors. The Quarup or Kuarup ritual

1711-444: The area of Great Britain ). Recent model-based predictions suggest that the extent of terra preta soils may be of 3.2% of the forest. Terra preta exists in small plots averaging 20 hectares (49 acres), but areas of almost 360 hectares (890 acres) have also been reported. They are found among various climatic, geological , and topographical situations. Their distributions either follow main water courses, from East Amazonia to

1770-528: The area. The Xingu Indigenous Park is on the upper Xingu River in the northeast of the state of Mato Grosso, in the south of the Amazon biome . It covers 26,420 square km (2,642,003 hectares, 6,528,530 acres), with savannah and drier semi-deciduous forests in the south transitioning to Amazon rain forest in the north. There is a rainy season from November to April. The headwaters of the Xingu River are in

1829-507: The book by John Hemming, People of the Rainforest: The Villas Boas Brothers, Explorers and Humanitarians of the Amazon (London, 2019). The Villas-Bôas brothers and three anthropologists and activists had the radical idea of creating a vast area of forest protected solely for its indigenous inhabitants and invited scientists. This was put to the vice president of Brazil in 1952, at which a much larger park

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1888-617: The boundaries of the park are the Kamaiurá (355), Aweti (138), Mehinako (199), Wauja (321), Yawalapiti (208), Kalapalo (417), Kuikuro (415), Matipu (119), Nahukwá (105) and Trumai (120), who all share a common cultural system (population figures as of 2002). Also living within the park are the Ikpeng (formerly Txikao) (319), Kaiabi (745), Kisêdjê (formerly Suia) (334), Yudja (formerly Juruna) (248), Tapayuna and Naruvotu peoples (population figures as of 2002). The Xingu area

1947-402: The case of terra preta , the only possible nutrient sources are primary and secondary. The following components have been found: Saturation in pH and in base is more important than in the surrounding soils. The peregrine earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus ( Oligochaeta : Glossoscolecidae ) ingests charcoal and mixes it into a finely ground form with the mineral soil. P. corethrurus

2006-436: The central basin, or are located on interfluvial sites (mainly of circular or lenticular shape) and of a smaller size averaging some 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) (see distribution map of terra preta sites in Amazon basin). The spreads of tropical forest between the savannas could be mainly anthropogenic—a notion with dramatic implications worldwide for agriculture and conservation . Terra preta sites are also known in

2065-843: The charcoal is stable and remains in the soil for thousands of years, binding and retaining minerals and nutrients. Terra preta is characterized by the presence of low-temperature charcoal residues in high concentrations; of high quantities of tiny pottery shards ; of organic matter such as plant residues, animal feces , fish and animal bones, and other material; and of nutrients such as nitrogen , phosphorus , calcium , zinc and manganese . Fertile soils such as terra preta show high levels of microorganic activities and other specific characteristics within particular ecosystems . Terra preta zones are generally surrounded by terra comum ( [ˈtɛʁɐ koˈmũ, ku-] ), or "common soil"; these are infertile soils, mainly acrisols , but also ferralsols and arenosols . Deforested arable soils in

2124-471: The culture on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification and supported a population of 100,000. Amazonians may have used terra preta to make the land suitable for large-scale agriculture. Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana was the first European to traverse the Amazon River in the 16th century. He reported densely populated regions extending hundreds of kilometres along

2183-425: The current soil peds and aggregates over a viable time frame. Such a mixture provides multiple soil improvements reaching at least the quality of terra mulata . Blood, bone meal and chicken manure are useful for short term organic manure addition. Perhaps the most important and unique part of the improvement of soil fertility is carbon, thought to have been gradually incorporated 4 to 10 thousand years ago. Biochar

2242-466: The current worldwide decline in soil fertility and associated desertification . Whether this is possible on a larger scale has yet to be proven. Tree Lucerne (tagasaste or Cytisus proliferus ) is one type of fertilizer tree used to make terra preta . Efforts to recreate these soils are underway by companies such as Embrapa and other organizations in Brazil. Synthetic terra preta is produced at

2301-419: The distinction among tribal indigenous societies of a hereditary, yet landless, aristocracy , a historical anomaly for a society without a sedentary, agrarian culture. Moreover, many indigenous peoples adapted to a more mobile lifestyle to escape colonialism . This might have made the benefits of terra preta , such as its self-renewing capacity, less attractive: farmers would not have been able to cultivate

2360-727: The first outside permanent residence there was by the São Paulo brothers Orlando and Claudio Villas-Bôas, from 1947 to 1976. They devised a new system for helping indigenous peoples, as friends, helpers and equals rather than as colonialist officials. This is now adopted throughout Brazil. By slowly introducing change at a rate that the indigenous peoples wanted and could absorb, they brought them in only two generations to awareness of all aspects of modern Brazilian society without losing their respect for their traditional communal societies and way of life. Leaders of Xingu indigenous groups such as Aritana Yawalapiti and Raoni Metuktire, both trained by

2419-538: The forest. A trained surveyor, Fawcett had between 1907 and 1911 mapped four boundaries for the Bolivian government. A devotee of spiritualism, he became convinced that the Amazon forests might contain a lost city of an extremely ancient 'superior' civilization. After distinguished service in the First World War, Fawcett spent several years pursuing his fantasy in the north-east and other parts of Brazil, before

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2478-399: The humid climate, as stone was unavailable. Whatever its extent, this civilization vanished after the demographic collapse of the 16th and 17th century, due to European-introduced diseases such as smallpox and bandeirante slave-raiding. The settled agrarians again became nomads, while still maintaining specific traditions of their settled forebears. Their semi-nomadic descendants have

2537-461: The lightest variants are a by-product of habitation. Terra preta 's capacity to increase its own volume—thus to sequester more carbon—was first documented by pedologist William I. Woods of the University of Kansas. This remains the central mystery of terra preta. The processes responsible for the formation of terra preta soils are: The transformation of biomass into charcoal produces

2596-515: The method of manufacture of charcoal. The slow oxidation of charcoal creates carboxylic groups ; these increase the cation exchange capacity of the soil. The nucleus of black carbon particles produced by the biomass remains aromatic even after thousands of years and presents the spectral characteristics of fresh charcoal. Around that nucleus and on the surface of the black carbon particles are higher proportions of forms of carboxylic and phenolic carbons spatially and structurally distinct from

2655-487: The park. Below is a list of villages in the Xingu Indigenous Park arranged by ethnic group: Terra preta Terra preta ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈtɛʁɐ ˈpɾetɐ] , literally "black soil" in Portuguese ), also known as Amazonian dark earth or Indian black earth , is a type of very dark, fertile anthropogenic soil ( anthrosol ) found in the Amazon Basin . In Portuguese its full name

2714-538: The particle's nucleus. Analysis of the groups of molecules provides evidences both for the oxidation of the black carbon particle itself, as well as for the adsorption of non-black carbon. This charcoal is thus decisive for the sustainability of terra preta . Amending ferralsol with wood charcoal greatly increases productivity. Globally, agricultural lands have lost on average 50% of their carbon due to intensive cultivation and other damage of human origin. Fresh charcoal must be "charged" before it can function as

2773-440: The perimeter was made in 1978.) The area was soon given the designation of "Indigenous Park" to cover the dual purpose of protecting the environment and the indigenous people, with all others excluded. It was the first such vast protected area in the world, and was the prototype of large indigenous territories throughout Amazonia which now protect a significant proportion of surviving tropical rain forests. The Xingu Indigenous Park

2832-472: The quantity of available charcoal increases. The production of biomass for two crops ( rice and Vigna unguiculata ) increased by 38–45% without fertilization ( P  < 0.05), compared to crops on fertilized ferralsol. Amending with charcoal pieces approximately 20 millimeters (0.79 in) in diameter, instead of ground charcoal, did not change the results except for manganese (Mn) , for which absorption considerably increased. Nutrient leaching

2891-680: The renewed soil as they migrated. Slash-and-char agriculture may have been an adaptation to these conditions. For 350 years after the European arrival, the Portuguese portion of the basin remained untended. Terra preta soils are found mainly in the Brazilian Amazon , where Sombroek et al. estimate that they cover at least 0.1–0.3%, or 6,300 to 18,900 square kilometres (2,400 to 7,300 sq mi) of low forested Amazonia; but others estimate this surface at 10.0% or more (twice

2950-411: The river, suggesting population levels exceeding even those of today. Orellana may have exaggerated the level of development, although that is disputed. The evidence to support his claim comes from the discovery of geoglyphs dating between 0–1250 CE and from terra preta . Beyond the geoglyphs, these populations left no lasting monuments, possibly because they built with wood, which would have rotted in

3009-609: The soil, it is almost impossible to identify charcoal by determining only the proportion of O/C. The hydrogen/carbon percentage or molecular markers such as benzenepolycarboxylic acid, are used as a second level of identification. Indigenous people added low temperature charcoal to poor soils. Up to 9% black carbon has been measured in some terra preta (against 0.5% in surrounding soils). Other measurements found carbon levels 70 times greater than in surrounding ferralsols , with approximate average values of 50 Mg/ha/m. The chemical structure of charcoal in terra preta soils

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3068-450: The soil. In Amazonia, the provisioning of nutrients from the decomposition of naturally available organic matter fails as the heavy rainfalls wash away the released nutrients and the natural soils (ferralsols, acrisols, lixisols, arenosols, uxisols, etc.) lack the mineral matter to provide those nutrients. The clay matter that exists in those soils is capable of holding only a small fraction of the nutrients made available from decomposition. In

3127-521: The south of the park. The area covered by the park was defined in 1961 and covers parts of the municipalities of Canarana , Paranatinga , São Félix do Araguaia , São José do Xingu , Gaúcha do Norte , Feliz Natal , Querência , União do Sul , Nova Ubiratã and Marcelândia in the state of Mato Grosso. To the east is the basin of the Araguaia River , the main branch of the Tocantins. To

3186-440: The twilight and where they paint themselves for ceremonies. The men's house is similar to the residential houses. It only has one or two doors, always smaller than those of residences, which face the center square. The flutes are hung in the beams and during the day they may be played only in the house's interior; at night (after the women have retired) the men can play the flutes in the patio. The first historical contact between

3245-619: The west and south is the Teles Pires branch of the Tapajos River . Much of the surrounding area, except to the north, is now heavily deforested. On the east side the deforested or unforested area extends northeast marking the approximate southeastern edge of the Amazon forest. At the center of the park a fan of rivers join. These are, counter-clockwise, Ferro River , Steinem, Ronuro, Jatoba, Batavi (or Tamitatoala), Auiiti, Culiseu, Culuene River and Tonguro. The Upper Xingu region

3304-612: Was a highly self-organized pre-Columbian anthropogenic landscape, including deposits of fertile agricultural terra preta , black soil in Portuguese, with a network of roads and polities each of which covered about 250 square kilometers. The Upper Xingu region was heavily populated prior to European and African contact. Densely populated settlements developed from 1200 to 1600 CE. Ancient roads and bridges linked communities that were often surrounded by ditches or moats. The villages were pre-planned and featured circular plazas. Archaeologists have unearthed 19 villages so far. The upper Xingu

3363-544: Was initially a presidential department, but is now subject to both the indigenous agency Funai and the environmental agency Ibama. By the late 1990s livestock and soya farms to the northeast of the park were starting to reach the park, as was deforestation to the west of the park. The effects of human activity outside the park were starting to pollute the waters of the park. The park remains an island of forest and rivers increasingly threatened by polluting activity and deforestation outside its perimeter. The people living within

3422-552: Was one of the last parts of Brazil to be reached by Europeans. From the north it was protected by the Xingu's many rapids. From the south it was protected by thin settlement and the warlike Bororo and Xavante , among others. In 1884 Karl von den Steinen headed northwest from Cuiabá to some Christianized Bakairi on the upper Teles Pires . They led him two weeks east to the Batavi River where they built canoes. They went downstream and met some uncontacted Bakairi, as well as

3481-621: Was proposed. However, the proposal was opposed by the state of Mato Grosso which began granting land within the proposed area to colonizing companies. Nine years of bitter political and media struggle ensued, until a new president of Brazil, Jânio Quadros (a family friend of the Villas-Bôas) rammed it through as a presidential decree, but at a greatly reduced area to satisfy the state government. The park came into existence by decree 50.455 of 14 April 1961. (Adjustments were made on 31 July 1961, 6 August 1968 and 13 July 1971. The final demarcation of

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