The Amazon: Land Without History

Book review of The Amazon: Land Without History. Euclides da Cunha (translation by Ronald Sousa of À margem da história (1909), with an introduction by Lúcia Sá). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 96 pp., introduction, maps, bibliography, index. ISBN 0195172051, 0195172043

A Fresh Look at Amazon Indians: Karl von den Steinen and Curt Nimuendajú, Giants of Brazilian Anthropology

This essay examines two German anthropologists who changed the style of Brazilian anthropology. Karl von den Steinen made first contact with eight peoples of the upper Xingu in the 1880s. His anthropological observations were accurate and valuable, and he was the first to describe indigenous people as individual human beings. Curt Nimuendajú also had no formal training, but was on an anthropological or archaeological expedition every year between 1905–1945, produced a prodigious volume of writing, studied shattered tribal remnants as well as newly contacted peoples, and was a pioneer in championing indigenous rights. Both were seminal figures in the study of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. Este ensaio examina dois antropólogos alemães que mudaram para sempre o estilo da antropologia brasileira. Karl von den Steinen fez os primeiros contatos com oito povos indígenas do alto Xingu na década de 1880. Suas observações antropológicas foram exatas e valiosas, e ele foi o primeiro a descrever os indígenas como seres humanos individuais. Curt Nimuendajú também não teve um treinamento formal, porém cada ano entre o periodo de 1905 a 1945 participou de expedições antropológicas ou arqueológicas; produziu grandes volumes de escrita academica; e estudou tanto vestigios de tribos fragmentadas assim como tribos recém descobertas. Ele foi pioneiro no apoio aos direitos dos indígenas. Karl von den Steinen e Curt Nimuendajú foram figuras destacáveis no estudo dos povos indígenas brasileiros

The Villas Boas Brothers and Anthropologists

This paper describes the history of the Villas Boas brothers of Brazil and their role in establishing and administering the 26,000-square-kilometer Xingu Indigenous Park in the Amazonian state of Mato Grosso. Many anthropologists came to work in the Park during the Villas Boas brothers’ decades-long residence there. The paper details some of the unique features of the Park that shaped fieldwork conditions and describes the relations between anthropologists and the brothers. Despite some skeptics, the great majority of anthropologists expressed a positive assessment of the brothers’ work. The article includes an appendix listing the anthropologists who worked in the Park and the dates of their research

Adelaide Oval: A postcolonial 'site'?

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