The 2010 Hall Lecture. The origins of agriculture in the Amazon: Dark earths, manioc domestication and landscape transformation in the Amazonian Formative.

The annual Hall Lecture honours Associate Professor Jay Hall, who retired in 2007 after more than 30 years of service to the Australian archaeological community. His teaching of archaeology produced several generations of scholars who continue to influence archaeological thinking in Australia and beyond. This year's public lecture will be delivered by Dr Manuel Arroyo-Kalin of Durham University, UK. Archaeology has recently demonstrated that agriculture and sedentism were widespread in the Amazon Basin during prehistory and that humans were a major influence on Amazonian ecosystems. However, the origins of agriculture and sedentism in Amazonia sit uncomfortably within accounts of South American pre-Columbian history, partly because newer data defy simple interpretation and also because many discussions continue to ignore evidence of pre-Columbian anthropogenic landscape transformations. In this lecture, recent archaeological investigations into the prehistory of Amazonian agriculture and landscape change will be discussed, focusing on geoarchaeological research of the soils themselves. Research shows that anthropogenic soil formation was a hallmark of the Amazonian Formative and suggests manioc domestication accompanied the widespread appearance of Amazonian anthropogenic dark earths during the first millennium AD.

State: QLD

Where: Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, St Lucia Campus, The University of Queensland

When: Friday 14 May 4.30 - 5.30pm

Cost: Free but RSVP preferred. Followed by free wine and nibbles reception in the UQ Art Museum.

Contact: RSVP Bridget Waugh on 3365 3535 or email b.waugh1@uq.edu.au