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Science 25 March 1988:
Vol. 239. no. 4847, pp. 1521 - 1522
DOI: 10.1126/science.3353699
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Articles

Science, Vol 239, Issue 4847, 1521-1522
Copyright © 1988 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Game depletion hypothesis of amazonian adaptation: data from a native community

WT Vickers

Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Florida International University, Miami 33199.

The low population densities and impermanent settlements of Amazonian Indians are often interpreted as adaptations to a fauna that offers limited protein resources and is rapidly depleted by hunting. Data spanning the 10-year life cycle of one northwestern Amazonian settlement show that variations in hunt yields result from temporal variations in peccary (Tayassu pecari and T. tajacu) kills that appear extrinsic to native population size. After 10 years, hunting success remained high and the kill rates for most prey did not suggest depletion. An array of environmental factors accounts for the incipient settlement relocation observed.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Holocene fire and occupation in Amazonia: records from two lake districts.
M. B Bush, M. R Silman, M. B de Toledo, C. Listopad, W. D Gosling, C. Williams, P. E de Oliveira, and C. Krisel (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc B 362, 209-218
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