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Protein Capture and Cultural Development in the Amazon Basin 1
Author(s) -
GROSS DANIEL R.
Publication year - 1975
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 - 10.1525/aa.1975.77.3.02a00040
Subject(s) - amazon rainforest , amazonian , amazon basin , ethnography , proposition , per capita , human settlement , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , structural basin , agriculture , ethnology , ecology , sociology , fishery , archaeology , biology , demography , population , paleontology , epistemology , philosophy
This paper examines the proposition that availability of animal protein limits the size, density, and permanence of settlements of the aboriginal societies of the Amazon Basin. Previous discussions have focused mainly on agricultural potential. Evidence is presented from ethnography and ecology suggesting that fish and game are scarce, particularly away from major rivers. Nine relatively unacculturated societies have relatively low but probably adequate per capita intake of animal protein. The effects which this limitation may have on Amazonian culture are discussed.