Most plots measured approximately 2.5 acres each and had previously been investigated on foot by ecologists who counted and identified the plant species in the plots. Several of the domesticated plants they identified are still grown by South Americans. The domesticated plants flourished near the archaeological sites, far more so than nondomesticated ones. “It’s the first time that we show these correlations between plant species in the forest today and archaeological finds,” she said. New direct evidence, like fossils of domesticated plants at the archaeological sites, would help advance such theories, she said.

Source: New York Times March 03, 2017 20:46 UTC