Pre-Columbian era

Pre-Columbian era

Old drawing (from 1879) of Arapaima fishing at the Amazon river.
During what many archaeologists called the formative stage, Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South America’s highland a

grarian systems. The trade with Andean civilizations in the terrains of the headwaters in the Andes formed an essential contribution to the social and religious development of higher-altitude civilizations like the Muisca and Incas. Early human settlements were typically based on low-lying hills or mounds.

Shell mounds were the earliest evidence of habitation; they represent piles of human refuse (waste) and are mainly dated between 7500 and 4000 years BC. They are associated with ceramic age cultures; no preceramic shell mounds have been documented so far by

archaeologists.[citation needed] Artificial earth platforms for entire villages are the second type of mounds. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture. Figurative mounds are the most recent types of occupation.