Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
GoGreen Membership

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 19 September 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5640, pp. 1710 - 1714
DOI: 10.1126/science.1086112
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Amazonia 1492: Pristine Forest or Cultural Parkland?

Michael J. Heckenberger,1* Afukaka Kuikuro,4 Urissapá Tabata Kuikuro,4 J. Christian Russell,2 Morgan Schmidt,3 Carlos Fausto,5 Bruna Franchetto5

Archaeology and indigenous history of Native Amazonian peoples in the Upper Xingu region of Brazil reveal unexpectedly complex regional settlement patterns and large-scale transformations of local landscapes over the past millennium. Mapping and excavation of archaeological structures document pronounced human-induced alteration of the forest cover, particularly in relation to large, dense late-prehistoric settlements (circa 1200 to 1600 A.D.). The findings contribute to debates on human carrying capacity, population size and settlement patterns, anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and the importance of indigenous knowledge, as well as contributing to the pride of place of the native peoples in this part of the Amazon.

1 Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
2 Land-Use and Environmental Change Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
3 Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
4 Associaçaão Indígena Kuikuro do Alto Xingu, Parque Indígena do Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
5 Department of Anthropology, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro 20940–040, Brazil.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mheckenb{at}anthro.ufl.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Pre-Columbian Urbanism, Anthropogenic Landscapes, and the Future of the Amazon.
M. J. Heckenberger, J. C. Russell, C. Fausto, J. R. Toney, M. J. Schmidt, E. Pereira, B. Franchetto, and A. Kuikuro (2008)
Science 321, 1214-1217
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Soils, Agriculture, and Society in Precontact Hawai`i.
P. M. Vitousek, T. N. Ladefoged, P. V. Kirch, A. S. Hartshorn, M. W. Graves, S. C. Hotchkiss, S. Tuljapurkar, and O. A. Chadwick (2004)
Science 304, 1665-1669
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)