biocultural diversity in the southern amazon生物文化多样性在南部亚马逊.pdf

Diversity 2010, 2, 1-16; doi:10.3390/d2010001 OPEN ACCESS diversity ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/diversity Article Biocultural Diversity in the Southern Amazon Michael Heckenberger Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; E-Mail: mheck@; Tel.: +1-352-392-2253; Fax: +1-352-392-6929. Received: 18 November 2009 / Accepted: 18 December 2009 / Published: 24 December 2009 Abstract: Recent studies in Amazonia historical ecology have revealed substantial diversity and dynamic change in coupled natural human systems. In the southern Amazon, several headwater basins show evidence of substantial pre-Columbian landscape modification, particularly in areas historically dominated by speakers of the Arawak language family. The headwater basin of the Xingu River, the easternmost of these areas occupied by Arawak-speaking peoples, has revealed such a complex built environment. This discussion examines settlement pattern and land-use, which have implications for understanding the dynamics of natural-human systems in the Upper Xingu basin and other areas across the transitional forests of the southern Amazon. Keywords: anthropogenic landscapes; pre-Columbian complex societies; cultural diversity 1. Introduction What is Amazonia? Is it one of the few places on earth where Nature still exists in a relatively pristine state, little influenced by human actio