Since 1999 the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut and the National Archaeology Unit of Bolivia have been investigating conjointly habitation mounds in the southeast of the Llanos de Mojos (Dept. Beni). The present study considers data from excavations at the site Loma of Salvatierra, with special reference to differences in the use of space and the discovery of an exceptionally "rich"  tomb. These new data contribute to the general discussion of the existence of complex societies in Prehispanic Amazonia. / Desde 1999, el Deutsches Archäologisches Institut y la Unidad Nacional de Arqueología de Bolivia dirigen un proyecto arqueológico de manera conjunta para efectuar investigaciones en montículos habitacionales del sureste de los Llanos de Mojos (departamento del Beni). En este trabajo se presentan datos obtenidos de excavaciones en el sitio de Loma Salvatierra, con énfasis en el uso espacial dentro del sitio y el hallazgo de una tumba excepcionalmente "rica". Estos datos contribuyen a la discusión general sobre la existencia de sociedades complejas en la Amazonía prehispánica.

Recent discoveries about pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon have revolutionized the way researchers think about the environment, and the degree of interaction that humans have with their surroundings. New evidence indicates that ancient Amazonian populations were not only much larger and more complex than previously thought, but they were also modifying their environment and creating artificial landscapes. Although information about pre-Columbian cultures can be gained from archaeological excavations and historical accounts, the advent of new technology allows archaeologists to conduct research remotely. Earthworks were constructed by pre-Hispanic peoples to create higher ground for occupation and agriculture, as an adaptation to the annual flooding of the Llanos de Mojos in the Bolivian Amazon. Over the centuries, patches of forest have grown on these earthworks due to their higher elevation and drier soils. By mapping these 'forest islands' using the satellite imagery from Google Earth and transferring the data into Quantum GIS, spatial patterns between the geographical features have been analyzed to reveal relationships between pre-Columbian earthworks, natural and artificial landscape features, and settlement patterns. This research supports theories of large and complex pre-Columbian populations in the Bolivian Amazon. Patterns between the different size, shape, and location of forest islands show a correlation between specific types of forest islands and water sources, which indicates that pre-Columbian societies were constructing earthworks based on function and distance to water.

Throughout Amazonia, earthworks are found in areas of diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. The distribution of these earthworks within various linguistic and ethnic areas suggests a multiethnic or multilinguistic network, in which interaction between these diverse groups occurred, creating diverse communities. Movement and communication within Amazonia along river networks allowed for this interaction. Interaction between groups in Amazonia may have also influenced the different methods of landscape modification. This thesis presents a GIS-based spatial analysis of raised fields, a type of agricultural earthwork found throughout the Llanos de Mojos (Mojos), located in the Beni Department of Bolivia. The distribution of fields, forest islands, and rivers was analyzed to distinguish the relationship between these features in the study area. The spatial analysis distinguished patterns between raised fields found along two sets of rivers, the Iruyañez and Omi Rivers, and the Yacuma and Rapulo Rivers. Spatial patterns found within these distributions were also compared to the distribution of linguistic groups in the area. Among these patterns, it is seen that one kind of agricultural earthwork is found in areas associated with different linguistic groups. The spatial patterns found among the raised fields and forest islands in relation to the linguistic groups in the area demonstrate the fluidity between groups in the region. Insight to movement and communication in Mojos can be understood through the interaction between linguistic groups and the distribution of archaeological features in the region.

This study employed a GIS-based use-analysis on a network of recently mapped pre-Columbian earthworks lying on the west side of a Bolivian floodplain. This wetland region, called Llanos de Mojos, is home to many different types of artificial mounds that served different roles for the ancient communities who constructed them thousands of years ago. This new set of features, which was mapped by volunteers of the Proyecto Sistemas Informaticas Geograficas y Arqueologicas del Beni (ProSIGAB) was purported to be a network of fish weirs, linear earthworks built in rivers or floodplains that are designed to trap fish by exploiting seasonal floodwaters. This identification was based on their similarities with the Baures Hydraulic Complex on the east side of Mojos (Erickson 2000; McKey et al. 2016; Blatrix et al. 2018). Classification procedures made use of the features' physical attributes and relationships with other landscape features to identify them not just as fish weirs, but multi-use structures that connected infrastructure, impounded water, and trapped fish. When understood together with nearby forest island settlements, neighborhoods of agricultural fields, and drainage features, it is argued these earthworks played a substantial role in the lives of past inhabitants, demonstrating their ingenuity by fulfilling multiple functions in a complex anthropogenic landscape.

Modern agricultural systems have been criticized for their detrimental effects on the environment and a general emphasis on crop yield rather than long-term sustainability. Traditional forms of agriculture may provide case-specific examples of sustainable alternatives for contemporary societies. In the seasonally inundated savannas of the Llanos de Mojos, pre-Columbian Indians piled earth into ‘large raised field platforms’ elevated high enough above the floodplain to allow crops to grow. Archaeological evidence indicates that raised field agriculture supported much larger populations than those found in the Beni today. The examination of satellite imagery has revealed more than 40,000 individual fields spread across an area of approximately 7,500 square kilometers. This study created a digitized map of large raised fields to search for spatial patterns in their distribution. A GIS analysis was conducted in which fields were distributed into organizational groups based on characteristics such as proximity and orientation to cardinal direction. These groups represent potential ‘social units’ involved in the organization of labor required to construct raised fields. This study demonstrated the consistent presence of these units throughout the entirety of the agricultural system. Patterns in the distribution of these groups allowed the study area to be divided into two distinct regions representing a larger scale of organization within a seemingly uniform system. A transitional zone between these two regions was identified on the river Omi, providing a clear area of interest to target in future archaeological excavations. Further archaeological investigations of raised field agriculture have the potential of demonstrating the overall productivity of the system as well as how it was incorporated into the social systems of those who managed it.