Only Slaves Climb Trees - Revisiting The Myth Of The Ecologically Noble Savage In Amazonia

    Authors

    A. M. Stearman

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Hum. Nat.-Interdiscip. Biosoc. Perspect.

    Keywords

    RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION; AMAZONIA; YUQUI INDIANS; KAYAPO RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT; BOLIVIAN AMAZON; FOREST ISLANDS; YUQUI; FORAGERS; APETE; CONSERVATION; REAPPRAISAL; STRATEGIES; SOCIETY; Anthropology; Social Sciences, Biomedical

    Abstract

    Professional and popular publications have increasingly depicted native peoples of Amazonia as ''natural'' conservationists or as people with an innate ''conservation ethic.'' A few classic examples are cited repeatedly to advance this argument with the result that these cases tend to be generalized to all indigenous peoples. This paper explores the premise that many of these systems of resource conservation come from areas of Amazonia where human survival depends on careful management of the subsistence base and not from a culturally imbedded ''conservation ethic.'' Where resource constraints do not pertain, as in the case of the Yuqui of lowland Bolivia, such patterns are unknown. Finally, the negative consequences of portraying all native peoples as natural conservationists is having some negative consequences in terms of current struggles to obtain indigenous land rights.

    Journal Title

    Human Nature-an Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective

    Volume

    5

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-1995

    Document Type

    Article; Proceedings Paper

    Language

    English

    First Page

    339

    Last Page

    357

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:A1994PX79600002

    ISSN

    1045-6767

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