Amazonian dark earths , also known as Terras Pretas de Índio, are anthropogenic soils derived from the activities associated with the settlements and agricultural practices of pre-Hispanic societies in the Amazon . Most of the ADEs identified so far are 500 to 2500 years old . According to Maezumi et al. , polyculture agroforestry allowed for the development of complex societies in the eastern Amazon around 4500 years ago. Agroforestry was combined with the cultivation of multiple crops and the active and progressive increase in the proportion of edible plant species in the forest, along with hunting and fishing. The formation of ADEs as a result of these activities served as the basis for a food production system that supported a growing human population in the area .
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