Amazonia

Tra nemici e bambini. Note di una ricerca in corso sul comando kalapalo (Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brasile)

by Antonio Guerreiro Júnior

Początek religii? Koncepcja animizmu w perspektywie antropologicznej. (polish)

by Pawel Tomasz Chyc

Stawiarski B. (red.) Człowiek, Społeczeństwo, Wiara. Studia interdyscyplinarne, Wrocław, 2007

Dans l’étude ci-après, j’aimerais présenter la manière dont l’anthropologie culturelle contemporaine rédéfinit... more Dans l’étude ci-après, j’aimerais présenter la manière dont l’anthropologie culturelle contemporaine rédéfinit l’animisme. Je comparerai la définition classique de l’animisme formulée par E. B. Tylor avec celle contemporaine de Ph. Descola. Les études sur les populations indiennes d’Amazonie menées par cet anthropologue français éminent font recommencer dans l’anthropologie les discussions sur le phénomène défini comme l’animisme. Cette comparaison aura pour objectif de montrer les différences fondamentales existant entre ces deux approches qui sont d’autant plus intéressantes que les deux analysent le même phénomène.
L’article privilégiera cependant la présentation de la conception de l’animisme en tant que forme archaïque des croyances religieuses.

Jeść jak prawdziwi ludzie - antropologiczna interpretacja kanibalizmu Indian Wari’ (polish)

by Pawel Tomasz Chyc

Jarosik M. & Kozieł K. (red.) Kultura czy Tortura? Obrzędy, praktyki, rytuały, które ranią przynoszą cierpienie...Materiały z interdyscyplinarnej,
ogólnopolskiej studenckiej konferencji naukowej, Kraków 2007;

Zjawisko określane mianem kanibalizmu
doczekało się wielu opracowań na gruncie
szeroko pojętych nauk... more Zjawisko określane mianem kanibalizmu
doczekało się wielu opracowań na gruncie
szeroko pojętych nauk społecznych i humanistycznych.
Poniżej chciałbym zaprezentować
najnowszą antropologiczną interpretacje tego
fenomenu, co niesie za sobą określone konsekwencje.
Po pierwsze, interpretacja ta dotyczy
aktów kanibalizmu, które stanowią usankcjonowany
w danej kulturze wzorzec postępowania
– swoistą oczekiwaną normę zachowań. Zatem
z perspektywy antropologicznej naleŜy wyraźnie
rozgraniczyć kanibalizm jako zachowanie
patologiczne, od kanibalizmu jako pożądanego
wzorca kulturowego.

Awajún

by Roxabel Ramón

Introduction: Ordeals of Language: Essays in Honor of Ellen B. Basso

by Juan Luis Rodriguez

Co-authored with Anthony K. Webster. Introduction to Special Issue of the Journal of Anthropological Research.

special issue in memory of Shelton H. Davis "Passion for the Oppressed"

by Robin Wright

to be published in 2012

outlines the issue contents outlines the issue contents

Ordeals of Language and Political Agonistic Exchange in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela

by Juan Luis Rodriguez

Forthcoming Peer-reviewed paper published in Journal of Anthropological Research.

This paper argues that Ellen Basso’s notion of ordeals of language can help us understand the semiotic mechanisms that... more This paper argues that Ellen Basso’s notion of ordeals of language can help us understand the semiotic mechanisms that affect political agency in the relation between indigenous populations and the state in Venezuela. Here I describe how linguistic performance and the struggle over political gifts influenced the production of what Basso calls “texts of the self” during the 2008 primary elections in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela. During this election gifts distributed to gain the vote of the Warao produced a situation in which local leader’s political alliance was compromised and had to be reasserted. A closer look into the process of creating political alliance through gift giving shows how ordeals of language are central in the positioning of indigenous leaders in Venezuela. Ellen Basso’s notion of language ordeals is particularly appealing to complement the analysis of political agonistic exchange (Mauss 1925). I argue that this form of analysis represents a more accurate and powerful heuristic tool to understand political relations between so-called populist democracies and Amazonian societies.

Genealogies of destruction: an archaeology of the contemporary past in the Amazon forest

by Alfredo González-Ruibal

Co-authored with Almudena Hernando.
Published in Archaeologies. Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 6(1): 5-28. 2010.

In this article we look at the destruction of the Amazon forest through an archaeological lens. We describe the... more In this article we look at the destruction of the Amazon forest through an archaeological lens. We describe the devastation brought about by illegal loggers and ranchers to the last remaining old-growth forests of Maranhão (NE Brazil), where the Awá hunter-gatherers live. We argue that archaeology can provide an alternative and more critical look at global consumerism by manifesting the crude materiality and abject
violence that lurks behind the goods consumed in the West. We followed the tracks of a group of loggers deep inside the forest and report what we saw.

Determinants of yield in a non-timber forest product: Copaifera oleoresin in Amazonian extractive reserves

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Watkinson, A.R., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Forest Ecology and Management
Volume: 261
Pages: 255 - 264

Developing sustainable extractive industries in otherwise intact tropical forest regions requires a sound... more Developing sustainable extractive industries in otherwise intact tropical forest regions requires a sound understanding of the production potential of key resource populations. The oleoresin extracted from Copaifera trees is an economically important non-timber forest product harvested throughout the lowland Amazon basin. We studied oleoresin extraction from four species of Copaifera trees with known harvest histories within two contiguous extractive reserves in western Brazilian Amazonia.Weconducted a largescale experimental harvest of 179 previously unharvested Copaifera trees, in both seasonally flooded (várzea) and adjacent unflooded (terra firme) forests. The likelihood of trees yielding any oleoresin was principally determined by their species identity: C. multijuga was the only species to regularly yield oleoresin (70% of trees). Yield volumes varied both amongst species and forest types: C. multijuga (restricted to terra firme forest) had the highest mean yield of 505 ml, whilst C. guyanensis produced higher volumes of oleoresin in várzea (139 ml) than terra firme (15 ml) forest. Intraspecific differences were driven mainly by tree size. To assess extraction sustainability, we reharvested a sample of C. multijuga trees and compared the oleoresin production of 24 conspecific trees that had been initially harvested one year previously with that of 17 trees initially harvested three years previously. Reharvested trees produced just 35% of the oleoresin volume compared to that when originally drilled, but this response was not affected by the time interval between consecutive harvests. We demonstrate that, within a population of Copaifera, both morphological and environmental factors restrict total productivity; consideration of these factors should inform sustainable management practises. We additionally raise methodological considerations that may improve the comparability of studies.

Determinants of livelihood strategy variation in two extractive reserves in Amazonian flooded and unflooded forests

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Endo, W., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Environmental Conservation
Volume: 39
Pages: 97-110

Extractive reserves account for a significant proportion of the remaining intact forest within Brazilian Amazonia.... more Extractive reserves account for a significant proportion of the remaining intact forest within Brazilian Amazonia. Managers of extractive reserves need to understand the livelihood strategies adopted by rural Amazonians in order to implement projects that benefit the livelihoods of local residents whilst maintaining forest integrity. Whilst resident populations are often descended from immigrant rubber-tappers, dynamic economic and social conditions have led to a recent diversification of land-use practices. This two-year study in two large contiguous extractive reserves encompassing both unflooded (terra firme) and seasonally flooded (várzea) forest, shows the degree to which local livelihood strategies of different settlements are heterogeneous. Extractive offtake of forest products and fish catches and agricultural activities, together with income from sales, for 82 households in 10 communities were quantified in detail by means of weekly surveys. The survey data were combined with interviews to examine the demographic and wealth profile, and engagement in alternative activities, in 181 households across 27 communities. All households and communities were engaged in all three subsistence activity types, but there was large variation in engagement with income-generating activities. Households within a community showed considerable congruence in their income-generating activity profiles, but there was significant variation among communities. Yields from agriculture and fishing were more temporally stable than extraction of highly-seasonal forest products. Generalized linear mixed models showed that forest type was consistently important in explaining yields of both agrarian and extractive products. Communities with greater access to terra firme forest were inherently more agricultural, and strongly committed to manioc production. Communities with greater access to flooded forest, however, showed a greater dependence on fishing. Conservation should be more attuned to the diversity and dynamism of livelihood strategies in protected areas; in particular, reserve managers and policy makers should account for the effect of local variation in physical geography when designing sustainable development projects.

Consequences of actor level livelihood heterogeneity for additionality in a tropical forest payment for environmental services programme with an undifferentiated reward structure

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Nichols, E.S., Endo, W., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Global Environmental Change
Volume: 22
Pages: 127-136

Primary tropical forests provide crucial environmental services, including carbon storage and hydrological regulation.... more Primary tropical forests provide crucial environmental services, including carbon storage and hydrological regulation. Options for promoting forest conservation include payments for environmental services (PES) programmes that provide financial incentives to local actors, in exchange for reduced forest clearance. The success of voluntary PES (defined in terms of avoided primary forest conversion) is contingent upon behavioural changes in enrolled actors. As both the degree of enrolment and likelihood of sustained behavioural change depend upon how PES compensation structures interact with existing actor economies, local heterogeneity in livelihood strategies may play a strong role in the ultimate success of PES programmes, particularly when compensation is not differentiated with respect to opportunity costs. We examined the influence of livelihood heterogeneity on the potential success of a deforestation-reduction PES with an undifferentiated reward structure. We collected socioeconomic and demographic data at the household and community levels across two large Amazonian extractive reserves where a spatially extensive PES programme (Bolsa Floresta) operates. We show that demographic and socioeconomic status varies widely across households and communities, and found that both households and communities that are most and least likely to convert primary forest receive similar financial incentives. Those households most engaged in manioc agriculture (the primary driver of local primary forest conversion) both benefitted from the highest annual incomes and incurred the greatest opportunity costs. We show that avoided primary forest conversion could be greatly increased with differentiated payment structures adjusted for local differences in opportunity costs and livelihood strategies, and present two metrics that could help to achieve that goal.

Cross-scale variation in the density and spatial distribution of an Amazonian non-timber forest resource

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Peres C.A., Desmoulière, S.J.M., Watkinson, A.R.
Journal: Forest Ecology and Management
Volume: 276
Pages: 41-51

Successful management of tropical forest resources depends upon an understanding of their patterns of density and... more Successful management of tropical forest resources depends upon an understanding of their patterns of density and spatial distribution, since these affect the potential for harvesting. The variation in these patterns across different spatial scales has rarely been explored. We assessed the extent to which different spatial scales are useful in understanding resource distribution, using the example of an economically significant tropical tree genus, Copaifera, which is valued across Brazilian Amazonia for its medicinal oleoresin. We mapped the spatial distribution of Copaifera trees at three nested spatial scales: basin-wide (across Brazilian Amazonia), landscape (across two contiguous extractive reserves) and local (within a 100-ha plot). Using data from our own study and an Amazon-wide forest inventory (Projeto RADAMBRASIL), we quantified the population distribution, density and size structure at the genus and species level at all three scales, relating these to two environmental variables – forest type and elevation. Spatial statistics were used to further characterize the resource at the landscape and local levels. The distribution, density and adult population structure differed between species and forest types at all three spatial scales. Overall tree densities ranged from 0.37 ha–1 (basin-wide scale) to 1.13 ha–1 (local scale) but varied between forest types, with várzea containing a Copaifera tree density just 43% of that in terra firme forest at the landscape scale. Spatial distribution analyses showed significant clumping of some species, especially C. multijuga which averaged 61 m between neighbouring trees. We compare our cross-scale density estimates and discuss the relative merits of studying the distribution of non-timber forest products (NTFP) at more than one spatial scale. Our results have implications for the management and extraction of this important Amazonian forest resource.

Spatial, temporal and economic constraints to the commercial extraction of a non-timber forest product: copaíba (Copaifera spp.) oleoresin in Amazonian reserves

by Pete Newton

Authors: Newton, P., Watkinson, A.R., Peres, C.A.
Journal: Economic Botany
DOI: 10.1007/s12231-012-9198-z

The increasing prevalence of government- and NGO-sponsored programs to encourage commercial non-timber forest product... more The increasing prevalence of government- and NGO-sponsored programs to encourage commercial non-timber forest product (NTFP) extractivism in the humid tropics has highlighted the need for ecological and socioeconomic appraisal of the viability of extractive industries. We adopted a novel, integrative approach to examining NTFP resource potential and produced credible landscape-scale estimates of the projected value of an economically important Amazonian NTFP, the medicinal oleoresin of Copaifera trees, within two large contiguous extractive reserves in Brazilian Amazonia. We integrated results derived from previous spatial ecology and harvesting studies with socioeconomic and market data, and mapped the distribution of communities within the reserves. We created anisotropic accessibility models which determined the spatial and temporal access to Copaifera trees in permanently unflooded (terra firme) and seasonally-flooded (várzea) forest. Just 64.9% of the total reserve area was accessible, emphasizing the distinction between the actual resource stock and that which is available to extractors. The density of productive tree species was higher in várzea forest but per tree productivity was greater in terra firme forest, resulting in similar estimates of oleoresin yield per unit area (64 – 67 ml ha–1) in both forest types. A greater area of várzea forest was accessible within shorter travel times of ≤250 min; longer travel times allowed access to increasingly greater volumes of oleoresin from terra firme forest. The estimated total volume of oleoresin accessible within the two reserves was 38,635 liters for an initial harvest, with projected offtake for a subsequent harvest falling to 8,274 liters. A household that extracted just two liters of oleoresin per month could generate 5% of its mean income; market data suggested that certification could increase the value of the resource five-fold. Our approach is valuable in that it incorporates a range of methodologies and quantitatively accounts for the numerous constraints to the commercial viability of NTFP extraction.

Shamanism and indigenous youthhood in the Brazilian Amazon

by pirjo kristiina virtanen

2009. Amazônica. Revista de Antropologia 1(1): 152-177.

This article deals with contemporary shamanism among young Indians in Brazilian Amazonia. It explores the meaning of... more This article deals with contemporary shamanism among young Indians in Brazilian Amazonia. It explores the meaning of shamanic practices for today’s Amazonian young Indians. The article focuses on the ayahuasca ceremonies practiced by young Manchineri living in both the indigenous reserve and urban areas in the State of Acre, Brazil. Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out between 2005 and 2007. Shamanic practices produce symbolic capital that may credit in one’s own native community and in interethnic relations. The spiritual and traditional knowledge, trust, values, and instructions on life generate cultural capital, social capital, as well as ethnic capital. Through shamanism young people have an active role in the construction of their agency and personhood, as it also is about youth’s own decision to interact with the spirits and other humans. Shamanic practices have marked a turning point in the lives of many native young people.

Constancy in Continuity: Native Oral history, Iconography and the Earthworks of the Upper Purus.

by pirjo kristiina virtanen

In Ethnicity in Ancient Amazonia: Reconstructing past identities from archaeology, linguistics, and ethnohistory. Alf Hornborg & Jonathan D. Hill (eds.). Pp. 279-298. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2011.

New Interethnic Relations and Native Perceptions of Human-to-Human Relations in Brazilian Amazonia

by pirjo kristiina virtanen

2009. Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 14(2): 332-354.

This article attempts to provide fresh insight into the new kinds of intermediaries found in Amazonian native... more This article attempts to provide fresh insight into the new kinds of intermediaries found in Amazonian native communities, showing how interethnic relations have changed
today’s native communities. The text presents a case study of the Manchineri people living in Brazilian Amazonia, focusing in particular on their spokespeople in rural and urban areas. These intermediaries work to produce equality and relatedness within the new social spaces where negotiations are required. Producing new human perspectives with non-natives is necessary in order to interact in the contemporary Amazonian
interethnic sociocosmologies. However, in the Manchineri community, new social roles have caused widening generational, urban–rural and gender gaps. The social logic
of Amazonian native peoples limits the ways in which specific social roles with special interethnic skills are temporarily adopted, and produces new ways to overcome deepening
social, political, and economic distances.

Amazonian Native Youths and Notions of Indigeneity in Urban Areas

by pirjo kristiina virtanen

2010. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 17(2/3): 154-175.

The indigenous presence in urban areas of Amazonia has become more visible as Indian populations have negotiated their... more The indigenous presence in urban areas of Amazonia has become more visible as Indian populations have negotiated their own spaces and acted in new contexts previously reserved for the dominant society. This article looks at ways in which today’s young Indians in an urban area define and interpret their new cultural and social situations, drawing from research conducted with Apurinã, Cashinahua and Manchineri youths in Rio Branco, a city in Acre state, Western Brazil. These young people occupy a variety of “native” and “non-native” habituses and
develop their notions of indigeneity within complex social networks as part of their strategy for rupturing the otherness associated with indigeneity. The text contributes
to the discussion on the theory of practice and identity politics, as well as embodiment. Young Indians in urban Amazonia constitute their agencies in multiple ways and use various embodiments based in the practices and knowledge of
their native groups and those of urban national and global society. The young natives break with the image of Lowland South American Indians as peoples uncontaminated by urban influences and help promote new interactions between
native populations in the reserve and the city.

Caboclo Horticulture and Amazonian Dark Earths along the Middle Madeira River, Brazil

by James Fraser

The Diversity of Bitter Manioc (Manihot Esculenta Crantz) Cultivation in a Whitewater Amazonian Landscape

by James Fraser

Ancestrais e suas sombras: uma etnografia da chefia kalapalo e seu ritual mortuário

by Antonio Guerreiro Júnior

Tese de doutorado defendida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social da Universidade de Brasília.