Stanford & Eglee Zent | Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (original) (raw)
Papers by Stanford & Eglee Zent
Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2022
This is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of ... more This is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: https://ipbes.net/the-values-assessment
Amazon Assessment Report 2021, Part 1, Ch. 10, 2021
In this chapter, we explore important interconnections between biological and cultural diversity ... more In this chapter, we explore important interconnections between biological and cultural diversity in the Amazon, defined as biocultural diversity. Biocultural diversity considers the diversity of life in all its di- mensions, including biological, sociocultural, and linguistic aspects, which are interconnected and have co-evolved as social-ecological systems. This chapter focuses on the worldviews, knowledge systems, live- lihood strategies, and governance regimes of Amazonian peoples as documented in ethnographic, ethno- biological, and human ecology studies beginning in the mid-to-late twentieth century. The focus here is on Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) across Amazonian countries and the territory of French Guiana. We synthesize important social and political processes that have led to the formal recog- nition of IPLCs’ lands and/or territories across the Amazon, notwithstanding persistent gaps, challenges, and obstacles to the recognition, consolidation, and protection of these areas, which will be discussed in other chapters of this report. The Amazon’s immense cultural diversity is manifested through approxi- mately 300 spoken Indigenous languages, expressed in worldviews and spiritual relationships with na- ture. IPLCs have played a critical role in shaping, protecting, and restoring Amazonian ecosystems and biodiversity under changing contexts, despite ongoing historic processes including genocide, disease, vi- olence, displacement, and conflicts between the conservation and development agendas. Amazonian peo- ples hold diverse and interconnected livelihood strategies, including agriculture and agroforestry, fisher- ies and aquatic management, hunting, resource gathering and extraction, and rural/urban market-based economic activities and wage-based employment in different sectors. These activities and practices are influenced to varying extents by seasonal and geographical variations, ecosystem features, cultural diver- sity, market forces, and public policies. We highlight the important role played by women in protecting agrobiodiversity, promoting food security and sovereignty in the Amazon. Policies aiming to conserve and use Amazonian biodiversity need to recognize the sociocultural and territorial rights of IPLCs, and be in- tegrative of Indigenous and local knowledge, languages, worldviews, and spiritual practices.
Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2020
En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq’ij, calendario ritual de 260 dí... more En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq’ij, calendario ritual de 260 días, ha persistido entre grupos mayenses contemporáneos. Si bien no puede afirmarse que sus características han permanecido inalteradas desde la época precolombina, sí se trata de un elemento cultural cuyos principales elementos constitutivos han subsistido a través del tiempo. Sus transformaciones han obedecido a procesos sociales, políticos e históricos que reflejan la capacidad de adaptación de los pueblos mayas de Guatemala, y actualmente el Cholq’ij es el eje de reivindicaciones y propuestas culturales endógenas. En este escrito describimos algunas de sus principales características y elementos constituyentes tal como es comprendido, transmitido, sistematizado y utilizado actualmente entre grupos de las tierras altas mayas de Guatemala. Asimismo, reflexionamos acerca de sus alcances y aplicaciones contemporáneas.
Science, 2017
The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We per... more The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.
Biodibersity and Conservation., 2019
In the last 50 years, traditionally nomadic indigenous communities in Amazonia have increasingly ... more In the last 50 years, traditionally nomadic indigenous communities in Amazonia have increasingly adopted more sedentary lifestyles as a result of external influences. Permanent settlements lead to the concentration of disturbances (e.g., forest extraction and hunting) and threaten vulnerable species as well as those that provide important ecosystem services such as dung beetles. Here we evaluated the abundance, taxonomic, and functional structure (composition and diversity) of an ecological indicator group-dung beetles-along a disturbance gradient associated with a permanent settlement of the Jotï people in the Amazonian region of Venezuela. We applied generalized linear model to assess the response of dung beetle abundance to settlement distance and latent variable model to assess the influence of settlement distance on taxonomic diversity and functional structure. We found the abundance of roller-species increased but small-bodied beetles decreased away from the settlement. We found that proximity to the Jotï settlement did not affect metrics of taxonomic and functional diversity of the dung beetle assemblages in general, although functional evenness was lower away from the settlement. In contrast, we found impacts on the functional composition of dung beetles, with significant increase in the community-weighted means for roller species and large-bodied dung beetles away from Jotï settlement. Our findings suggest that the transition from nomadism to a more sedentary lifestyle has not caused widespread collapse in the diversity of dung beetle assemblages surrounding the settlement, however significant trends were observed in species-specific responses to human impact, and these responses were mediated by functional traits.
Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2020
Cano, Estrada, Page y Zent Permanencia y uso contemporáneo del calendario Cholq'ij/Tachb'al Amaq... more Cano, Estrada, Page y Zent Permanencia y uso contemporáneo del calendario Cholq'ij/Tachb'al Amaq' en tierras altas de Guatemala Resumen: En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq'ij, calen-dario ritual de 260 días, ha persistido entre grupos mayenses contemporáneos. Si bien no puede afirmarse que sus características han permanecido inalteradas desde la época precolombina, sí se trata de un elemento cultural cuyos principales ele-mentos constitutivos han subsistido a través del tiempo. Sus transformaciones han obedecido a procesos sociales, políticos e históricos que reflejan la capacidad de adaptación de los pueblos mayas de Guatemala, y actualmente el Cholq'ij es el eje de reivindicaciones y propuestas culturales endógenas. En este escrito describimos algunas de sus principales características y elementos constituyentes tal como es comprendido, transmitido, sistematizado y utilizado actualmente entre grupos de las tierras altas mayas de Guatemala. Asimismo, reflexionamos acerca de sus alcan-ces y aplicaciones contemporáneas.
Scientific Reports, 2020
Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much de... more Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific
spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia is best approximated by a logseries with aggregated
individuals, where aggregation increases with rarity. By averaging several methods to estimate total richness, we confirm that over 15,000 tree species are expected to occur in Amazonia. We also show that
using ten times the number of plots would result in an increase to just ~50% of those 15,000 estimated species. To get a more complete sample of all tree species, rigorous field campaigns may be needed but
the number of trees in Amazonia will remain an estimate for years to come.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We per... more The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.
Resumen: En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los ... more Resumen: En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los Pumé desde una perspectiva etnoecológica. Los Pumé son un pueblo indígena que habita en la ecorregión de los Llanos (Venezuela). Aunque han sido identificados por algunos etnógrafos como un grupo de cazadores-recolectores, desde hace tiempo se ha señalado que poseen economías mixtas. Basados o no en las descripciones etnográficas, los agentes del Estado también han hecho representaciones de los Pumé como un grupo que carece de conocimientos agrícolas. En este sentido, el enfoque etnoecológico constituye la posibilidad de considerar aspectos cognitivos, perceptuales, cosmológicos y prácticos de la agricultura de este pueblo indígena. A partir de un estudio etnográfico, se describen siete formas de manejo agrícola que difieren en características como nivel de manejo, extensión, organización social del trabajo y propiedad de la cosecha. Por último, se profundiza en la descripción de los aspectos etnoecológicos de la agricultura de tala y quema de este grupo. Palabras clave: Agricultura. Etnoecología. Pumé. Ecorregión Llanera. Venezuela. Abstract: This article reports on agricultural management techniques among the Pumé from an ethnoecological perspective. The Pumé are an indigenous people that inhabit the Llanos ecoregion in Venezuela. Although some ethnographers consider them to be primarily a hunter-gatherer group, there are also reports going back to the colonial era indicating that they have a mixed farming-foraging economy. Development agents of the nation-state, whether informed or not about these ethnographic accounts, tend to look upon the Pumé similarly as a group lacking in agricultural skill and knowledge. An ethnoecological approach opens up the possibility of considering the cognitive, perceptual, cosmological and practical aspects of agriculture from the perspective of the Pumé themselves. Based on an ethnographic field study, here we describe seven forms of agricultural management that differ in terms of level or intensity of management, managed area extension, social organization of work, and harvest property/rights. Lastly, we provide a detailed description of key ethnoecological aspects of slash and burn cultivation among this group.
The present work explores the defining attributes (taxonomic status, nomenclature, identification... more The present work explores the defining attributes (taxonomic status, nomenclature, identification), uses and socio-symbolic meanings of the ethnobiological category of ibuju (sg.)/ebojto (pl.) (‘vine, liana, creeper’) among the Jotï, an indigenous group of the Venezuelan Amazon (population ~1,300). Despite being a very conspicuous class of plants in tropical regions, the relationship between vines/lianas and people has barely been studied. The present study addresses this research lacuna by contributing an ethnobotanical description of the structural, classificatory, symbolic and behavioral significance of vines/lianas from a Jotï perspective. The literature on the ethnobotany of vines is reviewed briefly, a minimal ethnographic sketch of the Jotï is provided, and the research methods used in the present study are described. The taxonomic, linguistic and perceptual characteristics of the ibuju ‘vine/liana’ category are described and analyzed in relation to prevailing concepts and understandings derived from ethnobiological theory. A comprehensive discussion of diverse ethnobiological interactions, taking into account both tangible and intangible aspects, is made, focusing on five use/meaning contexts: cosmic structure, medicine, food, rites of passage and hunting. An inventory of 200 folk generic categories included with this life form class was recorded, of which there were determined to be 130 species belonging to 50 families. Only 16 taxa have explicit use value for the Jotï and 17 use categories were identified. Despite the low number of useful/meaningful types, the high diversity of uses recorded here leads us to consider that the ibuju class occupies an important place in Jotï material and social life, being articulated to cultural reproduction processes that unfold in primordial as well as contemporary time frames.
This paper reflects on practical and conceptual lessons acquired as a result of our participation... more This paper reflects on practical and conceptual lessons acquired as a result of our participation in a project of self-demarcation of indigenous lands in Venezuela. The project was based on a collaboration between academics from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) and local communities of the Jodï and Eñepa ethnic groups. The goal was to prepare maps of community lands and compile all of the documentation required to petition the Venezuelan State for the land title. The first point proves the importance of alliances among local communities and external actors (such as academy-trained researchers) in order to navigate the complicated route of ethno-cartographic documentation and bureaucratic motions that leads from the theoretical recognition of territorial rights to the real and effective tenure over the land. Such collaborations imply the integration of complementary capabilities but also the mutual understanding of dissimilar perceptions and interests. In the second place, we analyze the ambiguity of the State in regards to Indian land rights recognition throughout the Bolivarian constitutional period, as reflected in various contradictions between written laws and legal practices, the separate actions and attitudes of different government agents at regional and national levels, the inconsistencies in the institutional authorities and application of norms established to promote the demarcation process, the legal lacunae or recurrent changes in the rules regarding the petition of land rights recognition, among other aspects that have impeded reaching the final goal of indigenous land demarcations: obtaining legal title or ownership rights over their lands. Third, the multiple realities of the map are evidenced by spatial-temporal polysemy, which have forced us to recognize the different ways of perceiving and experiencing space and time among non-western peoples, for example internalized in daily life yet externalized in symbolic representations at the same time. Lastly, we explore how indigenous territories can contribute to biocultural conservation policy. We conclude with the observation that collaborative projects geared toward community mapping and land demarcation, in which local community members and academic researchers participate actively in tandem, offer a promising venue for advancing ethnoecological research.
Este trabajo constituye un primer intento por entender la noción de ser joven entre los jotï de l... more Este trabajo constituye un primer intento por entender la noción de ser joven entre los jotï de la Guayana venezolana, o incluso si tal concepción existe entre ellos. Jotï (jotö, jodï o hoti) es la denominación con que se conoce a unos 1200 indígenas de la selva suramericana cuyo territorio se extiende entre el suroeste del estado Bolívar y el noreste del estado Amazonas. Este ensayo es esencialmente etno-gráfico y no teórico. Ser joven entre los jotï, y en general las catego-rías usuales con que se puede describir etapas de vida son difusas, engranadas en gradientes o in-conclusivas como punto final en una suerte de escala ontológica de ser o estar. Antes bien, ser joven o adulto, son más bien procesos de transformación articulados a formas de estar en el cosmos. Además de un mínimo contexto et-nográfico e ideas finales, el texto a continuación contrapuntea entre las narrativas mitológicas presentes en un espacio difuso atemporal y un presente de resistencias y cambios que se expande y contrae en una gama de 40 años. Abstract. This paper is a first attempt to understand the notion of being young among the Jotï from the Venezuelan Guyana, or even if such a concept exists between them. Jotï (jotö, jodï or hoti) is the name under which are known about 1,200 Indians from South American forests whose territory extends from the southwest of Bolivar state and the northeastern Amazon state. This assay is essentially ethnographic and not theoretical. Being young and in general all usual categories that can describe life stages among the Jotï, are diffuse, geared in gradients or inconclusive end points on a rather ontological scale. Rather, being young or old, are transformation processes or articulated ways of being in the cosmos. In addition to a minimum ethnographic context and final thoughts,
Biotropica, 2005
Our understanding of the human and biophysical dimensions of tropical dry forest change and its c... more Our understanding of the human and biophysical dimensions of tropical dry forest change and its cumulative effects is still in the early stages of academic discovery. The papers in this special section on Neotropical dry forests cover a wide range of sites and problems ranging from the use of multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing platforms to the impact of hurricanes on tropical dry forest regeneration. Here, we present to the scientific community the results of a workshop on which research priorities for tropical dry forests were discussed. This discussion focuses on the need to develop linkages between remote sensing, ecological, and social science research. The incorporation of social sciences into ecological research could contribute dramatically to our understandings of tropical dry forests by providing important contextual information to ecologists, and by helping to develop an important science-policy-public nexus on which environmental management can succeed.
This essay presents an overview of the concept of ‘nature’. It provides some reflec- tions on the... more This essay presents an overview of the concept of ‘nature’. It provides some reflec- tions on the heterogeneity of notions and values subsumed in the term nature in a portion of the Western tradition (from Ancient Greece-Rome through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment to the present day). The paper explores, in a diachronic, non-comprehensive fashion, the various connotations and conceptions given to the term nature, highlighting the socio-ecological risks that occur when ecological notions are extrapolated worldwide as if they were standard ones. It also reveals that such philosophical plurality is a historical as well as a contemporary phenomenon. The heterogeneity of notions in Western and Amerindian traditions should, ideally, be linked to pragmatic strategies geared toward the construction of improved contemporary environmental ethics.
by Claudia Baider, Edward Jimmy Alarcon Mozombite, Alexandre A de Oliveira, Milton Tirado, Cid Ferreira, Doug Daly, Italo Mesones, Roderick Zagt, Ademir Roberto Ruschel, Francisco Dallmeier, David A Neill, Tinde van Andel, Hernan Castellanos, Rodolfo Vasquez, César I A Vela, Flávia Costa, susan laurance, Uneg Hernandez, Stanford & Eglee Zent, Hirma Ramírez, Ligia Urrego, Jean-François Molino, Maria Mora, Marcos Ríos, and Lionel Hernandez
Science, 2013
Un muy creativo video sobre los Jotiï realizado por Eleazar Siem del IVIC
Anuario 5. , Mar 15, 2014
Este trabajo explora uno de los aspectos más relevantes de la conducta religiosa venezolana – el ... more Este trabajo explora uno de los aspectos más relevantes de la conducta religiosa venezolana – el culto a la Virgen María, materializado en la Cueva de la Virgen localizada en el Cerro Chichiriviche al sureste del estado Falcón, en la costa caribeña de Venezuela. Este significativo ejemplo refleja el predominio nacional de vocaciones hacia figuras femeninas sagradas centradas en el culto Mariano y a la diosa no-Cristiana Maria Lionza, que ejercen su influencia a todo lo largo del país, así como la importancia de las promesas. La Cueva de la Virgen es una expresión sintética de un sistema mestizo denotado por una conglomeración de estatuas que hacen del espacio rocoso un sagrado altar natural dentro del ecosistema marino. Se consideran también ciertas raíces históricas para ensayar una explicación de un mestizaje cultural en un encuentro armonioso de símbolos religiosos. El artículo describe además las características ambientales de este refugio de vida silvestre.
Dossier del Boletín de la Academia Venezolana de la Lengua: Escritura analógica y escritura digital Coordinado por Luis Barrera Linares. , Mar 15, 2015
El texto es una reflexion breve inacabada sobre algunos aspectos comparativos entre las publicaci... more El texto es una reflexion breve inacabada sobre algunos aspectos comparativos entre las publicaciones cientificas digitales e impresas.
This essay is the third and last of a trilogy published in Etnoecológica. The concept of ecogony,... more This essay is the third and last of a trilogy published in Etnoecológica. The concept of ecogony, introduced in the second essay, it is used in order to understand and explain the basis and parameters underlying the causal origin of interactions, processes and functions between the jotï and their abiotic and biotic environment in various articulatory spheres (ideological, material, spiritual, functional, dynamic, ontological, among others). Jotï is the ethnonym given to a group of about 1200 people living in the Venezuelan Amazon rainforests in Amazonas and Bolivar states. The text is concentrated in five ecogonic nodes: balebï (movement, interaction), ijtekï-bëjkyadï (sharing, interconnectedness), wëjlakï-bëjkya (perception of the environment), au jkwaï(interpenetration of essences), and me dekae (dwelling). Jotï precepts, both pragmatic and ideological, generate an environmental ethic articulated daily to their conceptions of interdependence, humanity and personhood which confer rights and duties to all parties (men, plants, air, animals, stars, among others). The final section confronts floristic and ethnobotanical data collected during the last fifteen years to try an explanation of the presence of 81 of the 227 hyperdominant species reported for the entire Amazon on at least 1 of the 4 hectare plots monitored in joti land. This 36% of convergence is more significant since about 20% of those 227 hyperdominant species has not been reported in the Venezuelan Amazon. Substantiated by a unique environmental ethics and ideologies that subsume particular environmental management behaviors and small-scale and low intensity disturbances by the jotï may be involved in the distribution of those species. Lines of inquiry regarding the hypothesis of Amazonian anthropogenic or pristine forest are proposed. The article concludes launching some ideas to stimulate the impetus for creating an eclectic environmental ethics that prioritizes respect for all life forms as well as the environment that supports them. This ethics aims to encourage horizontal communications among and with different lifestyles and cultures of the world and increase awareness of responsible and committed actors to configure sceneries to optimize repair and value life on earth.
Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2022
This is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of ... more This is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: https://ipbes.net/the-values-assessment
Amazon Assessment Report 2021, Part 1, Ch. 10, 2021
In this chapter, we explore important interconnections between biological and cultural diversity ... more In this chapter, we explore important interconnections between biological and cultural diversity in the Amazon, defined as biocultural diversity. Biocultural diversity considers the diversity of life in all its di- mensions, including biological, sociocultural, and linguistic aspects, which are interconnected and have co-evolved as social-ecological systems. This chapter focuses on the worldviews, knowledge systems, live- lihood strategies, and governance regimes of Amazonian peoples as documented in ethnographic, ethno- biological, and human ecology studies beginning in the mid-to-late twentieth century. The focus here is on Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) across Amazonian countries and the territory of French Guiana. We synthesize important social and political processes that have led to the formal recog- nition of IPLCs’ lands and/or territories across the Amazon, notwithstanding persistent gaps, challenges, and obstacles to the recognition, consolidation, and protection of these areas, which will be discussed in other chapters of this report. The Amazon’s immense cultural diversity is manifested through approxi- mately 300 spoken Indigenous languages, expressed in worldviews and spiritual relationships with na- ture. IPLCs have played a critical role in shaping, protecting, and restoring Amazonian ecosystems and biodiversity under changing contexts, despite ongoing historic processes including genocide, disease, vi- olence, displacement, and conflicts between the conservation and development agendas. Amazonian peo- ples hold diverse and interconnected livelihood strategies, including agriculture and agroforestry, fisher- ies and aquatic management, hunting, resource gathering and extraction, and rural/urban market-based economic activities and wage-based employment in different sectors. These activities and practices are influenced to varying extents by seasonal and geographical variations, ecosystem features, cultural diver- sity, market forces, and public policies. We highlight the important role played by women in protecting agrobiodiversity, promoting food security and sovereignty in the Amazon. Policies aiming to conserve and use Amazonian biodiversity need to recognize the sociocultural and territorial rights of IPLCs, and be in- tegrative of Indigenous and local knowledge, languages, worldviews, and spiritual practices.
Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2020
En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq’ij, calendario ritual de 260 dí... more En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq’ij, calendario ritual de 260 días, ha persistido entre grupos mayenses contemporáneos. Si bien no puede afirmarse que sus características han permanecido inalteradas desde la época precolombina, sí se trata de un elemento cultural cuyos principales elementos constitutivos han subsistido a través del tiempo. Sus transformaciones han obedecido a procesos sociales, políticos e históricos que reflejan la capacidad de adaptación de los pueblos mayas de Guatemala, y actualmente el Cholq’ij es el eje de reivindicaciones y propuestas culturales endógenas. En este escrito describimos algunas de sus principales características y elementos constituyentes tal como es comprendido, transmitido, sistematizado y utilizado actualmente entre grupos de las tierras altas mayas de Guatemala. Asimismo, reflexionamos acerca de sus alcances y aplicaciones contemporáneas.
Science, 2017
The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We per... more The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.
Biodibersity and Conservation., 2019
In the last 50 years, traditionally nomadic indigenous communities in Amazonia have increasingly ... more In the last 50 years, traditionally nomadic indigenous communities in Amazonia have increasingly adopted more sedentary lifestyles as a result of external influences. Permanent settlements lead to the concentration of disturbances (e.g., forest extraction and hunting) and threaten vulnerable species as well as those that provide important ecosystem services such as dung beetles. Here we evaluated the abundance, taxonomic, and functional structure (composition and diversity) of an ecological indicator group-dung beetles-along a disturbance gradient associated with a permanent settlement of the Jotï people in the Amazonian region of Venezuela. We applied generalized linear model to assess the response of dung beetle abundance to settlement distance and latent variable model to assess the influence of settlement distance on taxonomic diversity and functional structure. We found the abundance of roller-species increased but small-bodied beetles decreased away from the settlement. We found that proximity to the Jotï settlement did not affect metrics of taxonomic and functional diversity of the dung beetle assemblages in general, although functional evenness was lower away from the settlement. In contrast, we found impacts on the functional composition of dung beetles, with significant increase in the community-weighted means for roller species and large-bodied dung beetles away from Jotï settlement. Our findings suggest that the transition from nomadism to a more sedentary lifestyle has not caused widespread collapse in the diversity of dung beetle assemblages surrounding the settlement, however significant trends were observed in species-specific responses to human impact, and these responses were mediated by functional traits.
Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2020
Cano, Estrada, Page y Zent Permanencia y uso contemporáneo del calendario Cholq'ij/Tachb'al Amaq... more Cano, Estrada, Page y Zent Permanencia y uso contemporáneo del calendario Cholq'ij/Tachb'al Amaq' en tierras altas de Guatemala Resumen: En las tierras altas de Guatemala el conocimiento y uso del Cholq'ij, calen-dario ritual de 260 días, ha persistido entre grupos mayenses contemporáneos. Si bien no puede afirmarse que sus características han permanecido inalteradas desde la época precolombina, sí se trata de un elemento cultural cuyos principales ele-mentos constitutivos han subsistido a través del tiempo. Sus transformaciones han obedecido a procesos sociales, políticos e históricos que reflejan la capacidad de adaptación de los pueblos mayas de Guatemala, y actualmente el Cholq'ij es el eje de reivindicaciones y propuestas culturales endógenas. En este escrito describimos algunas de sus principales características y elementos constituyentes tal como es comprendido, transmitido, sistematizado y utilizado actualmente entre grupos de las tierras altas mayas de Guatemala. Asimismo, reflexionamos acerca de sus alcan-ces y aplicaciones contemporáneas.
Scientific Reports, 2020
Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much de... more Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific
spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia is best approximated by a logseries with aggregated
individuals, where aggregation increases with rarity. By averaging several methods to estimate total richness, we confirm that over 15,000 tree species are expected to occur in Amazonia. We also show that
using ten times the number of plots would result in an increase to just ~50% of those 15,000 estimated species. To get a more complete sample of all tree species, rigorous field campaigns may be needed but
the number of trees in Amazonia will remain an estimate for years to come.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We per... more The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.
Resumen: En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los ... more Resumen: En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los Pumé desde una perspectiva etnoecológica. Los Pumé son un pueblo indígena que habita en la ecorregión de los Llanos (Venezuela). Aunque han sido identificados por algunos etnógrafos como un grupo de cazadores-recolectores, desde hace tiempo se ha señalado que poseen economías mixtas. Basados o no en las descripciones etnográficas, los agentes del Estado también han hecho representaciones de los Pumé como un grupo que carece de conocimientos agrícolas. En este sentido, el enfoque etnoecológico constituye la posibilidad de considerar aspectos cognitivos, perceptuales, cosmológicos y prácticos de la agricultura de este pueblo indígena. A partir de un estudio etnográfico, se describen siete formas de manejo agrícola que difieren en características como nivel de manejo, extensión, organización social del trabajo y propiedad de la cosecha. Por último, se profundiza en la descripción de los aspectos etnoecológicos de la agricultura de tala y quema de este grupo. Palabras clave: Agricultura. Etnoecología. Pumé. Ecorregión Llanera. Venezuela. Abstract: This article reports on agricultural management techniques among the Pumé from an ethnoecological perspective. The Pumé are an indigenous people that inhabit the Llanos ecoregion in Venezuela. Although some ethnographers consider them to be primarily a hunter-gatherer group, there are also reports going back to the colonial era indicating that they have a mixed farming-foraging economy. Development agents of the nation-state, whether informed or not about these ethnographic accounts, tend to look upon the Pumé similarly as a group lacking in agricultural skill and knowledge. An ethnoecological approach opens up the possibility of considering the cognitive, perceptual, cosmological and practical aspects of agriculture from the perspective of the Pumé themselves. Based on an ethnographic field study, here we describe seven forms of agricultural management that differ in terms of level or intensity of management, managed area extension, social organization of work, and harvest property/rights. Lastly, we provide a detailed description of key ethnoecological aspects of slash and burn cultivation among this group.
The present work explores the defining attributes (taxonomic status, nomenclature, identification... more The present work explores the defining attributes (taxonomic status, nomenclature, identification), uses and socio-symbolic meanings of the ethnobiological category of ibuju (sg.)/ebojto (pl.) (‘vine, liana, creeper’) among the Jotï, an indigenous group of the Venezuelan Amazon (population ~1,300). Despite being a very conspicuous class of plants in tropical regions, the relationship between vines/lianas and people has barely been studied. The present study addresses this research lacuna by contributing an ethnobotanical description of the structural, classificatory, symbolic and behavioral significance of vines/lianas from a Jotï perspective. The literature on the ethnobotany of vines is reviewed briefly, a minimal ethnographic sketch of the Jotï is provided, and the research methods used in the present study are described. The taxonomic, linguistic and perceptual characteristics of the ibuju ‘vine/liana’ category are described and analyzed in relation to prevailing concepts and understandings derived from ethnobiological theory. A comprehensive discussion of diverse ethnobiological interactions, taking into account both tangible and intangible aspects, is made, focusing on five use/meaning contexts: cosmic structure, medicine, food, rites of passage and hunting. An inventory of 200 folk generic categories included with this life form class was recorded, of which there were determined to be 130 species belonging to 50 families. Only 16 taxa have explicit use value for the Jotï and 17 use categories were identified. Despite the low number of useful/meaningful types, the high diversity of uses recorded here leads us to consider that the ibuju class occupies an important place in Jotï material and social life, being articulated to cultural reproduction processes that unfold in primordial as well as contemporary time frames.
This paper reflects on practical and conceptual lessons acquired as a result of our participation... more This paper reflects on practical and conceptual lessons acquired as a result of our participation in a project of self-demarcation of indigenous lands in Venezuela. The project was based on a collaboration between academics from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) and local communities of the Jodï and Eñepa ethnic groups. The goal was to prepare maps of community lands and compile all of the documentation required to petition the Venezuelan State for the land title. The first point proves the importance of alliances among local communities and external actors (such as academy-trained researchers) in order to navigate the complicated route of ethno-cartographic documentation and bureaucratic motions that leads from the theoretical recognition of territorial rights to the real and effective tenure over the land. Such collaborations imply the integration of complementary capabilities but also the mutual understanding of dissimilar perceptions and interests. In the second place, we analyze the ambiguity of the State in regards to Indian land rights recognition throughout the Bolivarian constitutional period, as reflected in various contradictions between written laws and legal practices, the separate actions and attitudes of different government agents at regional and national levels, the inconsistencies in the institutional authorities and application of norms established to promote the demarcation process, the legal lacunae or recurrent changes in the rules regarding the petition of land rights recognition, among other aspects that have impeded reaching the final goal of indigenous land demarcations: obtaining legal title or ownership rights over their lands. Third, the multiple realities of the map are evidenced by spatial-temporal polysemy, which have forced us to recognize the different ways of perceiving and experiencing space and time among non-western peoples, for example internalized in daily life yet externalized in symbolic representations at the same time. Lastly, we explore how indigenous territories can contribute to biocultural conservation policy. We conclude with the observation that collaborative projects geared toward community mapping and land demarcation, in which local community members and academic researchers participate actively in tandem, offer a promising venue for advancing ethnoecological research.
Este trabajo constituye un primer intento por entender la noción de ser joven entre los jotï de l... more Este trabajo constituye un primer intento por entender la noción de ser joven entre los jotï de la Guayana venezolana, o incluso si tal concepción existe entre ellos. Jotï (jotö, jodï o hoti) es la denominación con que se conoce a unos 1200 indígenas de la selva suramericana cuyo territorio se extiende entre el suroeste del estado Bolívar y el noreste del estado Amazonas. Este ensayo es esencialmente etno-gráfico y no teórico. Ser joven entre los jotï, y en general las catego-rías usuales con que se puede describir etapas de vida son difusas, engranadas en gradientes o in-conclusivas como punto final en una suerte de escala ontológica de ser o estar. Antes bien, ser joven o adulto, son más bien procesos de transformación articulados a formas de estar en el cosmos. Además de un mínimo contexto et-nográfico e ideas finales, el texto a continuación contrapuntea entre las narrativas mitológicas presentes en un espacio difuso atemporal y un presente de resistencias y cambios que se expande y contrae en una gama de 40 años. Abstract. This paper is a first attempt to understand the notion of being young among the Jotï from the Venezuelan Guyana, or even if such a concept exists between them. Jotï (jotö, jodï or hoti) is the name under which are known about 1,200 Indians from South American forests whose territory extends from the southwest of Bolivar state and the northeastern Amazon state. This assay is essentially ethnographic and not theoretical. Being young and in general all usual categories that can describe life stages among the Jotï, are diffuse, geared in gradients or inconclusive end points on a rather ontological scale. Rather, being young or old, are transformation processes or articulated ways of being in the cosmos. In addition to a minimum ethnographic context and final thoughts,
Biotropica, 2005
Our understanding of the human and biophysical dimensions of tropical dry forest change and its c... more Our understanding of the human and biophysical dimensions of tropical dry forest change and its cumulative effects is still in the early stages of academic discovery. The papers in this special section on Neotropical dry forests cover a wide range of sites and problems ranging from the use of multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing platforms to the impact of hurricanes on tropical dry forest regeneration. Here, we present to the scientific community the results of a workshop on which research priorities for tropical dry forests were discussed. This discussion focuses on the need to develop linkages between remote sensing, ecological, and social science research. The incorporation of social sciences into ecological research could contribute dramatically to our understandings of tropical dry forests by providing important contextual information to ecologists, and by helping to develop an important science-policy-public nexus on which environmental management can succeed.
This essay presents an overview of the concept of ‘nature’. It provides some reflec- tions on the... more This essay presents an overview of the concept of ‘nature’. It provides some reflec- tions on the heterogeneity of notions and values subsumed in the term nature in a portion of the Western tradition (from Ancient Greece-Rome through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment to the present day). The paper explores, in a diachronic, non-comprehensive fashion, the various connotations and conceptions given to the term nature, highlighting the socio-ecological risks that occur when ecological notions are extrapolated worldwide as if they were standard ones. It also reveals that such philosophical plurality is a historical as well as a contemporary phenomenon. The heterogeneity of notions in Western and Amerindian traditions should, ideally, be linked to pragmatic strategies geared toward the construction of improved contemporary environmental ethics.
by Claudia Baider, Edward Jimmy Alarcon Mozombite, Alexandre A de Oliveira, Milton Tirado, Cid Ferreira, Doug Daly, Italo Mesones, Roderick Zagt, Ademir Roberto Ruschel, Francisco Dallmeier, David A Neill, Tinde van Andel, Hernan Castellanos, Rodolfo Vasquez, César I A Vela, Flávia Costa, susan laurance, Uneg Hernandez, Stanford & Eglee Zent, Hirma Ramírez, Ligia Urrego, Jean-François Molino, Maria Mora, Marcos Ríos, and Lionel Hernandez
Science, 2013
Un muy creativo video sobre los Jotiï realizado por Eleazar Siem del IVIC
Anuario 5. , Mar 15, 2014
Este trabajo explora uno de los aspectos más relevantes de la conducta religiosa venezolana – el ... more Este trabajo explora uno de los aspectos más relevantes de la conducta religiosa venezolana – el culto a la Virgen María, materializado en la Cueva de la Virgen localizada en el Cerro Chichiriviche al sureste del estado Falcón, en la costa caribeña de Venezuela. Este significativo ejemplo refleja el predominio nacional de vocaciones hacia figuras femeninas sagradas centradas en el culto Mariano y a la diosa no-Cristiana Maria Lionza, que ejercen su influencia a todo lo largo del país, así como la importancia de las promesas. La Cueva de la Virgen es una expresión sintética de un sistema mestizo denotado por una conglomeración de estatuas que hacen del espacio rocoso un sagrado altar natural dentro del ecosistema marino. Se consideran también ciertas raíces históricas para ensayar una explicación de un mestizaje cultural en un encuentro armonioso de símbolos religiosos. El artículo describe además las características ambientales de este refugio de vida silvestre.
Dossier del Boletín de la Academia Venezolana de la Lengua: Escritura analógica y escritura digital Coordinado por Luis Barrera Linares. , Mar 15, 2015
El texto es una reflexion breve inacabada sobre algunos aspectos comparativos entre las publicaci... more El texto es una reflexion breve inacabada sobre algunos aspectos comparativos entre las publicaciones cientificas digitales e impresas.
This essay is the third and last of a trilogy published in Etnoecológica. The concept of ecogony,... more This essay is the third and last of a trilogy published in Etnoecológica. The concept of ecogony, introduced in the second essay, it is used in order to understand and explain the basis and parameters underlying the causal origin of interactions, processes and functions between the jotï and their abiotic and biotic environment in various articulatory spheres (ideological, material, spiritual, functional, dynamic, ontological, among others). Jotï is the ethnonym given to a group of about 1200 people living in the Venezuelan Amazon rainforests in Amazonas and Bolivar states. The text is concentrated in five ecogonic nodes: balebï (movement, interaction), ijtekï-bëjkyadï (sharing, interconnectedness), wëjlakï-bëjkya (perception of the environment), au jkwaï(interpenetration of essences), and me dekae (dwelling). Jotï precepts, both pragmatic and ideological, generate an environmental ethic articulated daily to their conceptions of interdependence, humanity and personhood which confer rights and duties to all parties (men, plants, air, animals, stars, among others). The final section confronts floristic and ethnobotanical data collected during the last fifteen years to try an explanation of the presence of 81 of the 227 hyperdominant species reported for the entire Amazon on at least 1 of the 4 hectare plots monitored in joti land. This 36% of convergence is more significant since about 20% of those 227 hyperdominant species has not been reported in the Venezuelan Amazon. Substantiated by a unique environmental ethics and ideologies that subsume particular environmental management behaviors and small-scale and low intensity disturbances by the jotï may be involved in the distribution of those species. Lines of inquiry regarding the hypothesis of Amazonian anthropogenic or pristine forest are proposed. The article concludes launching some ideas to stimulate the impetus for creating an eclectic environmental ethics that prioritizes respect for all life forms as well as the environment that supports them. This ethics aims to encourage horizontal communications among and with different lifestyles and cultures of the world and increase awareness of responsible and committed actors to configure sceneries to optimize repair and value life on earth.
Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2022
this is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of ... more this is Chapter 2 of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: https://ipbes.net/the-values-assessment
Ediciones IVIC, 2024
Este es un libro comunitario. Constituye una recopilación de sabidurías ecológicas, caminos y si... more Este es un libro comunitario. Constituye una recopilación de sabidurías ecológicas, caminos y silencios entre gente que ha nacido y ocupado el Valle Las González en el páramo Los Conejos, estado Mérida, Venezuela. l contenido de la obra se configura a partir de la solicitud de muchos parameros al presentarles los resultados de un proyecto que exploraba sistemáticamente sus co- nocimientos ecológicos tradicionales sobre plantas, animales, interacciones ecológicas, biotopos, geografía local, suelos, clima, agricultura, pesca, cría de animales, ganadería, cacería, colección de insumos silvestres, artesanía e instrumentos de trabajo, culinaria, arquitectura, medicina tradicional. Este extraordinario aglomerado de saberes se sumó a aquellos recabados desde 1987, sumando insumos verbales y conductuales con más de 200 personas, a través de conversaciones y entrevistas contextualizadas en cami- natas, actividades parameras diversas o con un cafecito al abrigo del fogón arman este relato. Las historias de vidas de poblamiento y seducción del páramo Los Conejos, reco- gidas aquí, sintetizan los testimonios de cinco generaciones que vivieron o viven allí. Hacen eco entre los picos, las voces de los abuelos que domesticaron sus espacios y apren- dieron a vivir con serenidad y alegría, respeto y silencio, sobresalto y augurios, penas y cenizas, entre los encantos y los arcos