Footprints of the Forest: Ka’apor Ethnobotany – The Historical Ecology of Plant Utilization by an Amazonian People

This study provides an account of the relationship between the Amazonian people and their botanical environment. It is based on the author’s 10 years of ethnological and botanical research among the Tupi-Guarani-speaking Indians (especially the Ka’apor) of eastern Amazonia, and aims to rectify much of the ignorance about the history of Amazonia and its diverse peoples, habitats and resources. With the Indians and forests of eastern Amazonia vulnerable to seemingly unstoppable advances by loggers, squatters and gold miners, it illuminates the long-term relationship of plants to the culture, speech and life of the Ka’apor people.