Water on the Landscape of the Pre-Columbian Bolivian Amazon (Rain and Flooding Simulation)

The following timelapse animation was created based on the seasonal flooding of the Baures region of the Pre-Columbian Bolivian Amazon. Flood levels were based on contemporary data and pre-historic accounts of the people who lived in the region.

ABSTRACT: This project examines the interaction between water and the landscape of the Pre- Columbian Bolivian Amazon, specifically how this landscape was seasonally flooded and how earthworks were used by the precolumbian inhabitants of the region to capture, manage, and retain floodwater for use in transportation, communication, fishing, and agriculture. To visualize this dynamic waterscape, a mesh of the landscape was built and used in a realistic physical water simulation. Using relevant archaeological, ethnographic, and historical literature and photographs of the earthworks and local environment, a timelapse animation of the landscape was created to show the cycle of inundation.