We compare past and present systems of management of palms in the Colombian Amazon, based on archaeological studies of preceramic groups in the middle Caqueta region and ethnographic research on the nomadic Nukak people, who inhabit northeastern Guaviare department. Astrocaryum aculeatum, Attalea maripe, Mauritia flexuosa, Oenocarpus bataua, Oenocarpus bacaba y Oenocarpus mapora, have been used from the early Holocene through the present time. Among these, Oenocarpus bataua has remained the most important food species. We conclude that one of the mananging strategies of the tropical rain forest is the simultaneous improvement of ecological units, especially in the tertiary sedimentary plains, and that such management probably has a long history in the region.