The Effect of Pests on Populations in the Upper Amazon

Abstract

There is a rather serious discrepancy between the nature and complexity of 16th-century Amazonian cultures and those of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the observations of 19th-century scientists have served as our model for indigenous jungle cultures, and as a result, we have had a false understanding of the scope and organization of the indigenous cultures of the Amazon. The difference is so great that modern cultures cannot simply be considered as ancient ones slightly modified by European influences. They are of different types.