Nukak: Ethnoarchaeology of an Amazonian People

From Gustavo Politis, one of the most renowned South American archaeologists, comes the first in-depth study in English of the last "undiscovered" people of the Amazon. His work is groundbreaking and urgent, both because of encroaching guerrilla violence that makes Nukak existence perilously fragile, and because his work with the Nukak represented one of the last opportunities to conduct research with hunter-gatherers using contemporary methodological and the theoretical tools. Through a rich and comprehensive ethno-archaeological portrait of material culture "in the making," this work makes methodological and conceptual advances in the interpretation of hunter-gather societies. Politisrs"s conclusions, based on six years of original research and on comparative analysis, are integrative and contribute to the identification of the multiple factors involved in the formation of hunter-gatherer archaeological assemblages.

Preface	p. 11
Acknowledgments	p. 13
Illustrations	p. 17
Tables	p. 23
Introduction	p. 25
The Nukak and the Maku	p. 31
Recent History of the Nukak	p. 36
History of Contact	p. 38
Previous Studies	p. 43
Environment	p. 47
Physiography and Soils
Plant Physiognomy of the Environments in Nukak Territory
Final Considerations	p. 53
Theory and Methods: Ethics and Techniques	p. 55
On Ethnoarchaeology	p. 58
Ethnoarchaeology in South America	p. 63
Fieldwork	p. 66
Data Collection: Methods, Techniques, and Problems	p. 69
Ethics	p. 72
Concluding Remarks	p. 74
Sociopolitical Organization and Cosmology	p. 77
Sociopolitical Organization	p. 77
Ideology and Cosmology	p. 84
Final Considerations	p. 92
Shelters and Camps	p. 99
Architecture of the Shelters	p. 100
The Residential Camp	p. 106
The Construction of Residential Camps	p. 114
Other Types of Camps	p. 119
Transitory Camps
Small Shelters Peripheral to Residential Camps
Small Shelters between Camps
Rectangular Constructions in Chagras, or the "House of the Tapir"
Bridges
Discussion
Final Remarks	p. 127
The Use of Space and Discard Patterns	p. 131
Residential Camp Activity Areas	p. 132
Discard Patterns during Residential Camp Occupation	p. 137
Abandonment Refuse	p. 145
The Symbolic and Communicative Dimension of Waste	p. 152
Discussion	p. 153
Residential and Logistical Mobility: Daily Foraging Trips	p. 161
The Multiple Dimensions of Territory	p. 162
Residential Mobility	p. 165
Logistical Mobility	p. 170
Daily Foraging Trips	p. 171
Final Considerations	p. 179
Traditional Technology	p. 189
The Nukak and the Adoption of Western Technology	p. 193
Traditional Technology	p. 196
Hunting and Fishing Weapons
Other Elements Used in Food Procurement
Plant Product Procurement and Food Preparation Utensils
Furnishings and Accessories
The Social and Ideological Dimensions of Nukak Technology	p. 224
Final Considerations	p. 229
Subsistence	p. 237
Nondomesticated Plants	p. 240
Animal Resources	p. 256
Insect and Insect By-Product Resources	p. 263
Fish and Aquatic Animals	p. 267
Cultivation	p. 275
Food from the Colonos	p. 278
The Ideational Aspect of Food	p. 278
The Annual Circle and the Creation of Wild Orchards	p. 281
Discussion	p. 285
Conclusion	p. 288
Animal Exploitation, Processing, and Discard	p. 291
Hunted and Taboo Animals	p. 294
Hunting and Processing Strategies	p. 300
White-Lipped Peccary
Monkey
Tortoise
Birds
Caiman
Bone-Discard Pattern	p. 315
Archaeological Visibility of Butchering Patterns and Bone Discard	p. 316
Transport	p. 319
Conclusions	p. 321
Final Considerations	p. 325
The Nukak as Hunter-Gatherers	p. 325
Territory and Mobility	p. 329
The Use of Plants	p. 333
Technology	p. 335
Hunting and Food Taboos	p. 337
The Western View of Amazonian Hunter-Gatherers	p. 341
Final Words	p. 343
Sample of Daily Foraging Trips	p. 345
Patterns of Bone Representation and Surface Bone Modification Caused by Nukak Prey Acquisition	p. 357
Material and Methods	p. 358
Sample Analysis	p. 362
Discussion	p. 366
Conclusions	p. 373
Bibliography	p. 377
Index	p. 407
About the Author	p. 412
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Nukak: Ethnoarchaeology of an Amazonian People

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