Village Movement in Relation to Resources in Amazonia

TLDR: The role of resources in determining settlement patterns in Amazonia is discussed in this article, where the authors show that under extensive management systems, the increased labor time cost of subsistence production provides a strong incentive for groups to keep their settlement density low and to move about frequently.

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of resources in determining settlement patterns in Amazonia. The human use of soils, plants, and animals leads to steadily rising labor inputs for each unit produced, especially for food. Under extensive management systems, the increased labor time cost of subsistence production provides a strong incentive for groups to keep their settlement density low and to move about frequently. The stress by natives on life-threatening factors in their decisions to move is may be a way of translating environmental imperatives into social ones. However, documenting the frequency of movements and the duration of settlements and the natives' explanations of them will not be sufficient to verify this hypothesis. There must also be measurements taken of the population density and resource availability in terms of actual rates of capture. Only then will one would be able to state with some confidence that such practices as warfare, internal disputes, sorcery, and so forth are the pivotal aspects of a system whose leverage is provided by subsistence.