ABSTRACT
Terra preta, a type of Anthropogenic Dark Earth found throughout Amazonia, has become important evidence in discussions of forms of habitation and demography in pre-Columbian Amazonia. Seen as evidence of densely settled permanent towns, terra preta is one among many indices of anthropogenic environmental engineering in what was previously seen as a pristine forest. Contemporary literature on Amazonia has demonstrated a correlation between intensification in terra preta production and settlement growth, increased investment in landscape engineering, and refinement of ceramic technologies. As a step towards understanding this transition, I conceptualize it as an ecological regime shift. I propose that every regime shift has a primary or principal causal vector, and examine the causal mechanisms of terra preta formation at Antônio Galo, a terra preta site in the Central Amazon.
