Ethnogeography and Resource Use among the Yanomami

Abstract

Study of the spatial patterns of land use and forest resource exploitation by a Yanomami community in northern Amazonia (Brazil) combining high‐resolution satellite imagery and global positioning system survey data with ethnogeographic fieldwork shows that its natural‐resource use is configured in terms of “reticular space” rather than a set of discrete concentric exploitation “zones.” This model of reticular space has general relevance for the Yanomami and other Amazonian indigenous groups. The research reported demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary methodology for gathering data on ethnogeographic practices and knowledge that are essential for the appropriate demarcation of indigenous protected areas and the long‐term sustainable management of their environment in the Amazon and other tropical‐forest environments.