十三、El charango
Angermeyer四兄弟(Carl, Fritz, Gus & Hans)于一九三十年代由纳
粹德国迁移至此，当Crusoe。他们身怀绝技：画家，音乐家，歌剧家
与演员，是岛屿最先的移民，刚来的时候淡水都没有，在Santa Cruz
岛上，幸好山顶有雾雨，有野香蕉。记得电影“音乐之声”中那位海
军上校，也有实际的原型，他是爬山，这四位是漂海。七十年代初库
斯托随Calypso来此考察，受到家族的款待。我最后一天住在Puerto
Ayora的Waterfront Inn的Sea lion间才了解到Angermeyer的事情，
包括我乘坐的船Mary Anne也属名Angermeyer公司。
幸好我知道一点德语，这名词不难记。晚上用餐，Angermeyer Point
点蟹合饭，也算一道特色的海鲜了。席间人们谈到海鬣蜥，谈到它食
物的单调性，我便提起库斯托纪录片中的一段：一位叫卡尔的艺术家
倒能变换它们的口胃，让它吃饭，吃各种别的食物。这时有一位姑娘
，睁亮的眼睛，向我解释开了：这位卡尔就是他爷爷，电影中的场景
就在这里，屋子已改装，成了餐馆，墙上还有一幅她爷爷的画，是用
手指头涂染的颜料。还跟我比划她奶奶当时就坐在这里，Karl和库斯
托一人一根烟斗，海鬣蜥满屋满地。真是一位与自然融为一体的艺术
家，肯定也是一位美食家。Carl，游船的公司属于Fritz。
这些有点不符合英美世界纪录片的标准，也不符合规矩与洁净，故而
几乎被自然学界忽略掉了，甚至可贵的内容。科学界一直把海鬣蜥当
食红、蓝藻，还有BBC。这些话也许只有第三世界的人之间可以谈，
第三世界的Celebrity在第一世界的游客面前从来不作数。幸亏Hans家
族出了位女作家，写了一部。。。
她谈得很有精神，显出了神秘的魅力。黝黑的夜，面庞，我们聊了许
多，聊语言，聊自然，聊当地，谈到德语、西班牙语。她说她很小是
说德语的，后来因为家族生意，德语没了前途，改学英语了。她英文
说得好，略害羞，很谦卑。
我未问她的名字，仿佛有人介绍，Cathy还是Lisa，已记不清，只留
下Calypso这个印象。在那岛屿的夜里，她黝黑，身体娇小，强劲，
谈吐委婉，谦逊。穿着凉鞋，紧腿裤，上身穿什么？只是她的眼睛，
深入我内心。
很晚，很晚，她乘坐水上Taxi回去。那时焰火未熄，加拉帕加斯群岛
五十年庆(那时正什达尔文“物种起源”一百年)，赤道国的总领都来
了。我看着她离去。只是她的眼睛，深入我内心。
那一夜，我在梦见我俩在一起，在赤道太平洋水平，Snorkeling过了
赤道。象两只海豚，海底有无数美丽的小鱼。
(to be continued…)
Pre-Columbian South America
Agriculture and domestication of animals
South America is thought to have been first inhabited by people crossing the Bering Land Bridge from Asia, which is now the Bering Strait. Over the course of millennia, people spread to all parts of the continent.
The first evidence for the existence of agricultural practices in South America dates back to circa 6500 BCE, when potatoes, chilies and beans began to be cultivated for food in the Amazon Basin. Pottery evidence further suggests that manioc, which remains a staple foodstuff today, was being cultivated as early as 2000 BCE.[1]
South American cultures began domesticating llamas and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BCE. These animals were used for both transportation and meat.[1] Guinea pigs were also domesticated as a food source at this time.[2]
By 2000 BCE, many agrarian village communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along the coast which helped to establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society.[1] The food crops were quinoa, corn, lima beans, common beans, peanuts, manioc, sweet potatoes, potatoes, oca and squashes.[3] Cotton was also grown and was particularly important as the only major fiber crop.[1]
The earliest permanent settlement as proved by ceramic dating dates to 3500 BC by the Valdivia on the coast of Ecuador. Other groups also formed permanent settlements. Among those groups were the Chibchas (or “Muiscas” or “Muyscas”) and the Tairona, of Colombia, the cañari of Ecuador, the Quechuas of Peru, and the Aymaras of Bolivia were the 3 most important sedentary Indian groups in South America. In the last two thousand years there may have been contact with Polynesians across the South Pacific Ocean, as shown by the spread of the sweet potato through some areas of the Pacific, but there is no genetic legacy of human contact.[4]
Cañaris
The Cañaris were the indigenous natives of today’s Ecuadorian provinces of Cañar and Azuay. They were an elaborate civilization with advanced architecture and religious belief. Most of their remains were either burned or destroyed from attacks by the Inca and later the Spaniards. Their old city was replaced twice, first by the Incan city of Tomipamba, and later by the Colonial city of Cuenca. The city was also believed to be the site of El Dorado, the city of gold from the mythology of Colombia. The Cañaris were most notable to have repelled the Incan invasion with fierce resistance for many years until they fell to Tupac Yupanqui. Many of their descendants are still present in Cañar with a reasonable amount not having mixed and have been reserved from becoming mestizos.
Caral Supe
The Caral Supe civilization is among the oldest civilizations in the Americas, going back to 27th century BCE. It is noteworthy for having absolutely no signs of warfare. It was contemporary with urbanism’s rise in Mesopotamia.
Norte Chico
On the north-central coast of present-day Peru, the Norte Chico civilization emerged around the time of Caral-Supe civilization.
Chibchas
The Chibcha linguistic communities were the most numerous, the most territorially extended and the most socio-economically developed of the Pre-Hispanic Colombian cultures. By the 3rd century CE, the Chibchas had established their civilization in the northern Andes. At one point, the Chibchas occupied part of what is now Panama and the high plains of the Eastern Sierra of Colombia. The areas that they occupied were the Departments of Santander, Norte de Santander, Boyacá and Cundinamarca, which were also the areas where the first farms were developed. Centuries later it was in the area of these departments where the independence movement originated and the first industries were developed. They are currently the richest areas in Colombia. They represented the most populous zone between the Mexica and Inca empires. Next to the Quechua of Peru and Ecuador and the Aymara in Bolivia, the Chibchas of the eastern and north-eastern Highlands of Colombia were the most striking of the sedentary indigenous peoples in South America.
In Colombia’s Eastern Sierra, the Chibchas were composed of several tribes who spoke the same language (Chibchan). Among them: Muiscas, Guanes, Laches and Chitareros.
Amazon
Some 5 to 7 million people lived in the Amazon region, divided between dense coastal settlements, such as that at Marajó, and inland dwellers. For a long time, it was believed that those inland dwellers were sparsely populated hunter-gatherer tribes. Archeologist Betty J. Meggers was a prominent proponent of this idea, as described in her book Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise. However, recent archeological findings have suggested that the region was actually densely populated.
One of the main pieces of evidence is the existence of the fertile Terra preta (black earth), which is distributed over large areas in the Amazon forest. It is now widely accepted that these soils are a product of indigenous soil management. The development of this soil allowed agriculture and silviculture in the previously hostile environment; meaning that large portions of the Amazon rainforest are probably the result of centuries of human management, rather than naturally occurring as has previously been supposed.[5] In the region of the Xinguanos tribe, remains of some of these large settlements in the middle of the Amazon forest were found in 2003 by Michael Heckenberger and colleagues of the University of Florida. Among those were evidence of roads, bridges and large plazas.[6]
Chavín
The Chavín, a South American preliterate civilization, established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called Chavín in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters. Chavín civilization spanned 900 to 300 BCE.
Moche
The Moche thrived on the north coast of Peru 2000-1500 years ago. The heritage of the Moche comes down to us through their elaborate burials, recently excavated by UCLA’s Christopher Donnan in association with the National Geographic Society. Skilled artisans, the Moche were a technologically advanced people who traded with faraway peoples, like the Maya. Almost everything we know about the Moche comes from their ceramic pottery with carvings of their daily lives. We know from these records that they practiced human sacrifice, had blood-drinking rituals, and that their religion incorporated non-procreative sexual practices (such as fellatio).
Inca
Holding their capital at the great puma-shaped city of Cusco, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu, or “the land of the four regions,” in Quechua, the Inca civilization was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some 9 to 14 million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system. Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming was a useful form of agriculture. There is evidence of excellent metalwork and even successful brain surgery in Inca civilization.
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