Abstract:This paper describes the Jodï horticultural system, including belief, knowledge and practice aspects. The horticultural practices of the Jodï were previously characterized as 'incipient cultivation' but such practices were poorly described and documented. The antiquity of cultivation among this group is suggested by the prominence and significance of horticultural products and techniques in myth and ritual. Our field observations uncovered a fairly sophisticated system of plant management in swiddens, house ga… Show more
“…For instance, the Kayapó Indians in southern Amazonia use Azteca ants to repel leaf-cutting ants that eat useful species' leaves (Posey, 1987). The Huaorani Indians in western Amazonia and Hotï Indians in northern Amazonia increase the abundance of several useful plant species by keeping fruit trees alive in their territory (Rival, 1998;Zent and Zent, 2012). Aggregated patches of many useful plants are spared when clearing the forest for crop cultivation (Shanley et al, 2016), increasing the survival rates of these plants.…”
Section: Protection Of Useful Plantsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Planting practices may increase a useful plant's performance, survival and reproduction because people usually take care of seedlings after planting. In Amazonia, several tree and palm species are planted mostly in agroforestry systems, forest gardens and forest gaps surrounding settlements (Denevan et al, 1984;Balée, 1993;Zent and Zent, 2012). In the past, indigenous groups also planted several perennial species, originating patches of useful trees and palm species across the basin (Frikel, 1978).…”
For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking near archaeological sites, yet we still lack a clear picture of how human management practices resulted in the domestication of Amazonian forests. The general view is that domesticated forests are recognizable by the presence of forest patches dominated by one or a few useful species favored by long-term human activities. Here, we used three complementary approaches to understand the long-term domestication of Amazonian forests. First, we compiled information from the literature about how indigenous and traditional Amazonian peoples manage forest resources to promote useful plant species that are mainly used as food resources. Then, we developed an interdisciplinary conceptual model of how interactions between these management practices across space and time may form domesticated forests. Finally, we collected field data from 30 contemporary villages located on and near archaeological sites, along four major Amazonian rivers, to compare with the management practices synthesized in our conceptual model. We identified eight distinct categories of management practices that contribute to form forest patches of useful plants: (1) removal of non-useful plants, (2) protection of useful plants, (3) attraction of non-human animal dispersers, (4) transportation of useful plants, (5) selection of phenotypes, (6) fire management, (7) planting of useful plants, and (8) soil improvement. Our conceptual model, when ethnographically projected into the past, reveals how the interaction of these multiple management practices interferes with natural ecological processes, resulting in the domestication of Amazonian forest patches dominated by useful species. Our model suggests that management practices became more frequent as human population increased during the Holocene. In the field, we found that useful perennial plants occur in multi-species patches around archaeological sites, and that the dominant species are still Levis et al. Amazonian Forest Domestication managed by local people, suggesting long-term persistence of ancient cultural practices. The management practices we identified have transformed plant species abundance and floristic composition through the creation of diverse forest patches rich in edible perennial plants that enhanced food production and food security in Amazonia.
“…For instance, the Kayapó Indians in southern Amazonia use Azteca ants to repel leaf-cutting ants that eat useful species' leaves (Posey, 1987). The Huaorani Indians in western Amazonia and Hotï Indians in northern Amazonia increase the abundance of several useful plant species by keeping fruit trees alive in their territory (Rival, 1998;Zent and Zent, 2012). Aggregated patches of many useful plants are spared when clearing the forest for crop cultivation (Shanley et al, 2016), increasing the survival rates of these plants.…”
Section: Protection Of Useful Plantsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Planting practices may increase a useful plant's performance, survival and reproduction because people usually take care of seedlings after planting. In Amazonia, several tree and palm species are planted mostly in agroforestry systems, forest gardens and forest gaps surrounding settlements (Denevan et al, 1984;Balée, 1993;Zent and Zent, 2012). In the past, indigenous groups also planted several perennial species, originating patches of useful trees and palm species across the basin (Frikel, 1978).…”
For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking near archaeological sites, yet we still lack a clear picture of how human management practices resulted in the domestication of Amazonian forests. The general view is that domesticated forests are recognizable by the presence of forest patches dominated by one or a few useful species favored by long-term human activities. Here, we used three complementary approaches to understand the long-term domestication of Amazonian forests. First, we compiled information from the literature about how indigenous and traditional Amazonian peoples manage forest resources to promote useful plant species that are mainly used as food resources. Then, we developed an interdisciplinary conceptual model of how interactions between these management practices across space and time may form domesticated forests. Finally, we collected field data from 30 contemporary villages located on and near archaeological sites, along four major Amazonian rivers, to compare with the management practices synthesized in our conceptual model. We identified eight distinct categories of management practices that contribute to form forest patches of useful plants: (1) removal of non-useful plants, (2) protection of useful plants, (3) attraction of non-human animal dispersers, (4) transportation of useful plants, (5) selection of phenotypes, (6) fire management, (7) planting of useful plants, and (8) soil improvement. Our conceptual model, when ethnographically projected into the past, reveals how the interaction of these multiple management practices interferes with natural ecological processes, resulting in the domestication of Amazonian forest patches dominated by useful species. Our model suggests that management practices became more frequent as human population increased during the Holocene. In the field, we found that useful perennial plants occur in multi-species patches around archaeological sites, and that the dominant species are still Levis et al. Amazonian Forest Domestication managed by local people, suggesting long-term persistence of ancient cultural practices. The management practices we identified have transformed plant species abundance and floristic composition through the creation of diverse forest patches rich in edible perennial plants that enhanced food production and food security in Amazonia.
“…There is always a breach in which fallows play a central part. Instead of a marked discontinuity between cultivated land and forest, we have a chromatic succession caused by human ‘creative disturbances’ that result in further diversity (Balée 1989; Zent & Zent 2012). While the concept of domestication often implies a rupture between nature and culture, familiarisation may provide us with a more nuanced perspective to approach such interactions.…”
Section: The Breach: Slowing Down Entropymentioning
“…Después de dos a tres años de cultivo, siembra y resiembra de yuca, los terrenos de los conucos son abandonados por siete o más años antes de una nueva tala y quema. Los conucos abandonados son espacios ideales para las actividades de cacería y recolección (Posey, 1983;Padoch;Denevan, 1988;Zent, 1992Zent, , 1995Freire, 2007;Zent, E., 2012). Es decir, son espacios manejados para el aprovechamiento de recursos vegetales cultivados y no cultivados.…”
Section: Conucos En Barbecho (ĉHado Duri)unclassified
“…Las fases de cultivo que se describen a continuación están basadas en el manejo agrícola en conucos grandes (ĉhado), ya que este tipo de manejo es comparable con los conucos de tumba y quema o conucos de barbecho, que es el modelo agrícola de los grupos amazónicos más conocido (Triana-Moreno et al, 2006;Robert et al, 2012;Zent, E., 2012;López Garcés, 2016). En forma general, el ciclo de cultivo se puede resumir en un esquema (Figura 2), aunque enfatizamos que se trata de un modelo.…”
Resumen En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los Pumé desde una perspectiva etnoecológica. Los Pumé son un pueblo indígena que habita en la ecorregión de los Llanos (Venezuela). Aunque han sido identificados por algunos etnógrafos como un grupo de cazadores-recolectores, desde hace tiempo se ha señalado que poseen economías mixtas. Basados o no en las descripciones etnográficas, los agentes del Estado también han hecho representaciones de los Pumé como un grupo que carece de conocimientos agrícolas. En este sentido, el enfoque etnoecológico constituye la posibilidad de considerar aspectos cognitivos, perceptuales, cosmológicos y prácticos de la agricultura de este pueblo indígena. A partir de un estudio etnográfico, se describen siete formas de manejo agrícola que difieren en características como nivel de manejo, extensión, organización social del trabajo y propiedad de la cosecha. Por último, se profundiza en la descripción de los aspectos etnoecológicos de la agricultura de tala y quema de este grupo.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.