Yanomamo people of Central Brazil are one of the oldest examples of the classic pre-Columbian forest footmen. They are believed to be the most primitive, culturally intact people in existence in the world. They are literally a Stone Age tribe. Cataloged by anthropologists as Neo-Indians with cultural characteristics that date back more than 8000 years. They have never discovered the wheel and the only metal they use is what has been traded to them from the outside. Their numbering system is one, two, and more than two.
The Yanomamo live in almost complete seclusion in the Amazon rain forests of South America. Apart from their periodic warfare, they have managed to build and sustain their unique culture through adaptations to their environment for generations.
There are approximately 23,000 Yanomamo spread among roughly 225 villages in the Amazon Basin. Each village acts autonomously, but has alliances with other villages that carry on warfare periodically with disputing villages. The rainforests that the Yanomamo inhabit include both riverine lowland and tropical highland. Both habitat subtypes contain huge vine-covered trees and are relatively free of underbrush. Today about 95% of the Yanomamo live deep within the Amazon forest as compared to the 5% who live along the major rivers. Compared to the "forest people," the "river people" are much more sedentary Yanomamo who have settled along rivers now tend fields and hunt across the river from there village as well as on their bank. They also have straightforward access to manufactured supplies and learn from outsiders how to obtain new foods such as fish. These factors distribute the community's exploitative activities, enabling them to remain in their village year round. Groups of Yanomamo who have settled along rivers depart on fewer treks than woodland communities.
The Yanomamo intensively utilize the land directly around their villages. This soon leads to lessened supplies of game in the forest and mature crops in the gardens. The depletion of their food supply has led them to develop the adaptive behavior of trekking. Trekking is an extensive camping trip lasting anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months in which the...
Yanomamo The Yanomami are an indigenous tribe also called Yanomamo, Yanomam, and Sanuma who live in the tropical rain forest of Southern Venezuela and Northern Brazil. The society is composed of four subdivisions of Indians. (Yanomami Indians) Each subdivision has its own language. "They include the Sanema which live in the Northern Sector, the Ninam which live in the southeastern sector, the Yanomam which live in the southeastern part and
Origins of WarIntroductionThe origins of war�are they inherent within the human condition? Are they part of the human personality, the human spirit, the inner turmoil and conflict in the psyche or soul? Why do people fight? Why does conflict exist in society? These questions and those like them get to the heart of the human condition and have been asked by philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, politicians, theologians, and anyone who ever
Fischer entitled: "Representing Anthropological Knowledge: Calculating Kinship: Analyzing and Understanding Cultural Codes" states that: Kinship is one of the more important, pervasive and complex systems of culture. All human groups have a kinship terminology, a set of terms used to refer to kin. The study of kinship is the greatest common denominator across the different fractions of social anthropology. The first scientific study of kinship was conducted by Lewis Henry
Ethnography From an Artistic Point-of-View One of the most intriguing things about art is that it pervaded all cultures, regardless of the conditions present in some communities. Values that seem absurd for some cultures can be especially appreciated by others and vice-versa, considering the complex nature of the contemporary society. Napoleon A. Chagnon's article "Doing Fieldwork among the Yanomamo" provides readers with a first person understanding of the Yanomamo tribe and
Kinship Systems It is important to note that a kinship system can be taken to be a rather complex feature that determines the role of individuals, their relations to each other as well as their obligations and responsibilities. In this text, I concern myself with the Australian Aborigines' kinship system. I further discuss the impact of the Australian Aborigines' kinship system on the behavior of the culture and lastly give my
Kinship in Australian Aborigines The individuality promoted by American and other Westernized societies makes one often forget the kinship, extended-family-based networks present in most other societies, and especially those in which the main way of life revolves around foraging and horticulture systems. Yet kinship exists, and it is present in many communities, one of which is the Australian Aboriginal community located throughout the continent, but focused mostly in the Northern
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