Descola Philippe

In the Society of Nature

A Native Ecology in Amazonia

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Achuar Indians live in the remote forest reaches of the Upper Amazon and have developed sophisticated strategies of resource management. Philippe Descola, who has gathered material over several years of fieldwork, documents their rich knowledge of the environment. He explains how this technical knowledge of the increasingly threatened Amazonian ecosystems is interwoven with cosmological ideas that endow nature with the characteristics of society. Combining a symbolist approach with an ecological analysis, the book contributes a new theory of the social construction of nature.

Table of contents:
General introduction; Part I. The Sphere of Nature: 1. The territorial space; 2. Landscape and cosmos; 3. Nature's beings; Part II. On the Proper Use of Nature: 4. The world of the house; 5. The world of gardens; 6. The world of the forest; 7. The world of the river; 8. Categories of practice; 9. The good life; Conclusion.

The author documents the Achuar Indians of the Upper Amazon knowledge of the environment, and explains how it is interwoven with cosmological ideas that endow nature with the characteristics of society.

A study of the Achuar Indians of the Upper Amazon and their relationship with their environment.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 396
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. Oktober 2003
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 28mm
• Gewicht: 794g
• ISBN-13: 9780521411035
• ISBN-10: 0521411033
• Artikelnr.: 21370989

Inhaltsangabe

General introduction
Part I. The Sphere of Nature: 1. The territorial space
2. Landscape and cosmos
3. Nature's beings
Part II. On the Proper Use of Nature: 4. The world of the house
5. The world of gardens
6. The world of the forest
7. The world of the river
8. Categories of practice
9. The good life
Conclusion.