Kyle L. Harper

Doctoral Candidate (historical ecology, archaeology)

Kyle L. Harper is an archaeologist specializing in the historical ecology of the lower Amazon basin. His research concerns the transformation of anthropogenic soils, known as Amazonian Dark Earth soils, or Terra Preta, between precolonial, colonial and modern occupations of sites in the greater Xingu-Amazonas confluence region. Kyle hopes to better understand the chemical, physical and cultural transformations of these soils as they relate to a shift from precolonial economies based on subsistence agriculture, to historical economies based on commodity production and emerging capitalism