Agricultural limitations of the Amazon in theory and practice

Abstract

The historical roots of the theory that agricultural potential limits cultural development in the Amazon are examined. It is demonstrated that the agricultural limitations theory is Julian Steward's resolution of the contrasting visions of Paul Kirchoff and Alfred Métraux. While Kirchoff relied upon the earliest observers of Circum‐Caribbean cultures, Métraux ignored comparable testimony from the Amazon. Reexamination of the earliest observations of Amazonian cultures suggests that large, stable chiefdoms had been established before European contact, at least on the lower Amazon.

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