Subsistence fishery at Hatahara (750-1230 CE), a pre-Columbian central Amazonian village

Aquatic resources play a major role in modern Amazonian societies, however little is known about their importance in pre-Columbian economies. In this paper, we present results of the first zooarcheological study in the Central Amazon, carried out at the Hatahara site, a large pre-Columbian settlement situated at the confluence of the Amazon and Negro rivers. The faunal assemblage comes from archeological features belonging to the Paredão phase occupation (750-1230 CE) and reveals that fish were the primary animal resource. The richness of ichthyofaunal spectrum (37 taxa) recovered is the most varied continental fish spectrum described to date in South-American archeology and shows the fishermen's profound knowledge of specific ecological niches and fishing techniques. Amazon aquatic turtles (Podocnemis spp.) were the second most frequently exploited aquatic resource. These data demonstrate the key role of aquatic resources in ancient Amazonia economies and suggests that fishing could have provided long-term subsistence to large Amerindian settlements.