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Hunting in Ancient and Modern Amazonia: Rethinking Sustainability
Author(s) -
Shepard Jr. Glenn H.,
Levi Taal,
Neves Eduardo Góes,
Peres Carlos A.,
Yu Douglas W.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-1433.2012.01514.x
Subject(s) - amazon rainforest , amazonian , indigenous , sustainability , geography , bushmeat , manu , field (mathematics) , environmental resource management , ecology , environmental science , biology , botany , wildlife , mathematics , pure mathematics
We use a recently developed computerized modeling technique to explore the long‐term impacts of indigenous Amazonian hunting in the past, present, and future. The model redefines sustainability in spatial and temporal terms, a major advance over the static “sustainability indices” currently used to study hunting in tropical forests. We validate the model's projections against actual field data from two sites in contemporary Amazonia and use the model to assess various management scenarios for the future of Manu National Park in Peru. We then apply the model to two archaeological contexts, show how its results may resolve long‐standing enigmas regarding native food taboos and primate biogeography, and reflect on the ancient history and future of indigenous people in the Amazon.