Western Amazonia - Amazonia Occidental. Multidisciplinary Studies on Ancient Expansionistic Movements, Fortifications and Sedentary Life

Surveying cultural and environmental history in a wide geographical context, this book examines some of the ancient cultures of Bolivian, Brazilian and Peruvian Amazonia. It demonstrates that pre-Colonial western Amazonia supported large settlements both in the varzea and terra firme environments. New finds in fact indicate the existence of complex societies even in the interfluvial tropical zones in the first centuries of the second millenium A.D. The book also contributes to our understanding of the fortifications and indigenous expansionist movements from Amazonia toward the Andes (the Tupi-Guarani), and from the Andes toward Amazonia (the Incas). The ancient Andean peoples were apparently drawn to the natural resources of Amazonian societies to a much greater extent that previously thought.