Anthropogenic Soil Change in Ancient and Traditional Agricultural Fields in Arid to Semiarid Regions of the Americas

Abstract

Soils form the foundation for agriculture and are changed by farming through active management and unintentionally. Soil change from agriculture ranges from wholesale transformation to ephemeral and subtle modification. The archaeological record of early agricultural systems holds information about soil change on centurial to millennial scales, with important implications for long-term soil condition and land use sustainability. Knowledge of early agricultural management can also be inferred from soils, including farming strategies in dynamic, challenging environments. This paper discusses soil change processes and outcomes mainly using studies of ancient and traditional agriculture in arid regions of the Americas. The potential and limitations of soil change research methods in ancient agriculture are also considered. Soil anthropogenic change involves complex and interactive physical, chemical, and biological processes across a wide range of spatial and time scales. Soil change outcomes in early agriculture relating to soil health and productivity vary from improvement to degradation. Soil productivity improvement commonly resulting from management includes soil-landscape physical stabilization for crops, increased topsoil thickness and plant-available water capacity, and improved soil tilth and fertility. Degradation commonly results from unintentional soil-geomorphic-ecosystem changes that cause accelerated erosion, destabilization of soil structure and compaction, and decreases in plant nutrients and soil fertility. Soil change outcomes vary across space and time in response to complex environmental, agricultural, and social factors.