Archaeologica.org

An examination of the two cores - one from the large lake, Laguna Oricore, and one from the smaller lake, Laguna Granja - revealed a surprise: The very oldest sediments didn't come from a rainforest ecosystem at all. In fact, the Bolivian Amazon before about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago looked more like the savannas of Africa than today's jungle environment.

The question had been whether the early Amazon was highly deforested or barely touched, Carson said. "The surprising thing we found was that it was neither," he told Live Science. "It was this third scenario where, when people first arrived on the landscape, the climate was drier."

http://www.sott.net/article/281532-Myst ... rainforest

There have been previous studies about the extent of population and farming in the Amazon basin. This is interesting and, of course, we know the climate keeps changing.....FOX news notwithstanding.