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book: Amazonia in the Anthropocene
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Amazonia in the Anthropocene

People, Soils, Plants, Forests
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2016

About this book

Widespread human alteration of the planet has led many scholars to claim that we have entered a new epoch in geological time: the Anthropocene, an age dominated by humanity. This ethnography is the first to directly engage the Anthropocene, tackling its problems and paradoxes from the vantage point of the world’s largest tropical rainforest.

Drawing from extensive ethnographic research, Nicholas Kawa examines how pre-Columbian Amerindians and contemporary rural Amazonians have shaped their environment, describing in vivid detail their use and management of the region’s soils, plants, and forests. At the same time, he highlights the ways in which the Amazonian environment resists human manipulation and control—a vital reminder in this time of perceived human dominance. Written in engaging, accessible prose, Amazonia in the Anthropocene offers an innovative contribution to debates about humanity’s place on the planet, encouraging deeper ecocentric thinking and a more inclusive vision of ecology for the future.

Author / Editor information

Nicholas C. Kawa is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the Ohio State University, where he researches biodiversity management and agricultural sustainability in the Amazon region.

Reviews

"A provocative read. Densely packed, this richly constructed, engaging ethnography explores biodiversity, human adaptation, risk, vulnerability, and resilience in the immensely complex and rapidly changing realm that is the Amazon. Writing in an effective, reflexive style, Nicholas Kawa offers the reader a nuanced, deeply supported, and multifaceted view of Amazonian life in times that are truly momentous. This is, simply, an insightful, beautiful gem of a book."
— Barbara Rose Johnston, Center for Political Ecology Senior Research Fellow and principal author of Who Pays the Price?: The Sociocultural Context of Environmental Crisis

"I didn’t realize such a recent coinage as ‘anthropocene’ is already in desperate need of revision. Kawa provides that in his intriguing account of soils, forests, and rivers. These stories sparkle with analytic insight and unfold through vivid ethnographic details that cumulatively challenge the centrality of the West in the narrative of how the world is changing. This book will change our thinking about the planet."
— John Hartigan, University of Texas at Austin, author of Aesop’s Anthropology: A Multispecies Approach

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Preface

    vii
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    Acknowledgments

    xi
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    Chapter 1 Amazonia in the Anthropocene

    1
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    Chapter 2 People

    22
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    Chapter 3 Soils

    50
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    Chapter 4 Plant

    72
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    Chapter 5 Forests

    93
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    Chapter 6 From the Anthropocene to the Ecozoic?

    113
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    Appendix Useful Botanical Species Surveyed in Borba, Amazonas, Brazil

    133
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    Notes

    145
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    References

    159
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    Index

    181
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 8, 2021
eBook ISBN:
9781477308004
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.7560/307991
eBook ISBN: 9781477308004
Keywords for this book
Amerindians; ethnography; Central Brazilian Amazon; Brazilian Amazon; Amazonian; Amazonia; environment; climate change; environmental studies; ecology
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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