Review
"Not a handbook of Amazonian indigenous people but it is an important treatise that clearly shows existing cultures do not necessarily represent their pre-contact predecessors. All anthropologists and ethnobiologists with interest in the Amazon will enjoy this book."—Journal of Ethnobiology"This outstanding collection of essays well represents recent scholarship on the South American tropical lowlands."—The Historian"A useful corrective to researchers who assume that contemporary native Amazonians faithfully represent past social formations. . . . The final chapter . . . is simply the best I have ever read on the complexities of the politics of ethnic identity and autonomy in Amazonia." —American Scientist
From the Back Cover
Amazonia has long been a focus of debate about the impact of the tropical rain forest environment on indigenous cultural development. This edited volume draws on the subdisciplines of anthropology to present an integrated perspective of Amazonian studies. The contributors address transformations of native societies as a result of their interaction with Western civilization from initial contact to the present day, demonstrating that the pre- and postcontact characteristics of these societies display differences that until now have been little recognized. CONTENTS
Amazonian Anthropology: Strategy for a New Synthesis, Anna C. Roosevelt
The Ancient Amerindian Polities of the Amazon, Orinoco and Atlantic Coast: A Preliminary Analysis of Their Passage from Antiquity to Extinction, Neil Lancelot Whitehead
The Impact of Conquest on Contemporary Indigenous Peoples of the Guiana Shield: The System of Orinoco Regional Interdependence, Nelly Arvelo-JimA(c)nez and Horacio Biord
Social Organization and Political Power in the Amazon Floodplain: The Ethnohistorical Sources, Antonio Porro
The Evidence for the Nature of the Process of Indigenous Deculturation and Destabilization in the Amazon Region in the Last 300 Years: Preliminary Data, AdA(c)lia EngrAcia de Oliveira
Health and Demography of Native Amazonians: Historical Perspective and Current Status, Warren M. Hern
Diet and Nutritional Status of Amazonian Peoples, Darna L. Dufour
Hunting and Fishing in Amazonia: Hold the Answers, What are the Questions?, Stephen Beckerman
Homeostasis as a Cultural System: The Jivaro Case, Philippe Descola
Farming, Feuding, and Female Status: The Achuara Case, Pita Kelekna
SubsistenceStrategy, Social Organization, and Warfare in Central Brazil in the Context of European Penetration, Nancy M. Flowers
Environmental and Social Implications of Pre- and Post-Contact Situations on Brazilian Indians: The Kayapo and a New Amazonian Synthesis, Darrell Addison Posey
Beyond Resistance: A Comparative Study of Utopian Renewal in Amazonia, Michael F. Brown
The Eastern Bororo Seen from an Archaeological Perspective, Irmhilde WA1/4st
Genetic Relatedness and Language Distributions in Amazonia, Harriet E. Manelis Klein
Language, Culture, and Environment: TupA-GuaranA Plant Names Over Time, William BalA(c)e and Denny Moore
Becoming Indian: The Politics of Tukanoan Ethnicity, Jean E. Jackson
About the Author
Anna Roosevelt is an anthropologist with interests in human ecology and cultural evolution. For about twenty years she has carried out field research in lowland South America. Roosevelt is Curator of Archaeology at the Field Museum of Natural History and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
