Ethnoarchaeological Lessons from the Tropical Rainforest of South America
Lecturers:
Gustavo G. Politis
Zahraniční přednášející se k semináři připojí vzdáleně, jeho prezentace tedy proběhne online.
The tropical rainforests of South America are among the few regions in the world where hunter-gatherer societies still persist. These groups offer an exceptionally valuable source of analogies for interpreting the archaeological record.
In this presentation, I draw on a series of ethnoarchaeological case studies among the Nukak, Hotï, and Awa to illustrate key dimensions of tropical forest hunter-gatherer lifeways. I examine how these societies actively modify the distribution and density of palm species—creating what may be described as “wild orchards”—and how they engage with animals within ontological frameworks markedly different from Western conceptions of nature. By considering these alternative cosmologies, we gain deeper insight into ways of thinking and interacting with the environment that may well have been present among past hunter-gatherers.
Short Bio:
Gustavo G. Politis is a Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina and a Professor at the Universidad del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. He is currently at the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn as a researcher of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He specializes in the archaeology of the Pampas and Northwestern Argentina, the peopling of the Americas, the ethnoarchaeology of lowland hunter-gatherers, and the theory and history of archaeology in South America. He has published 12 books (6 as author or co-author and 6 as editor or co-editor), including the recent volume The Archaeology of the Pampas and Patagonia (Cambridge University Press, 2024). He is the author or co-author of 194 journal articles and book chapters. Among his most notable distinctions are the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2003), the “Investigador de la Nación Argentina” Award (2013), the Shanghai Archaeological Forum Research Award (2025), and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2024).
Gustavo G. Politis is a Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina and a Professor at the Universidad del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. He is currently at the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn as a researcher of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He specializes in the archaeology of the Pampas and Northwestern Argentina, the peopling of the Americas, the ethnoarchaeology of lowland hunter-gatherers, and the theory and history of archaeology in South America. He has published 12 books (6 as author or co-author and 6 as editor or co-editor), including the recent volume The Archaeology of the Pampas and Patagonia (Cambridge University Press, 2024). He is the author or co-author of 194 journal articles and book chapters. Among his most notable distinctions are the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2003), the “Investigador de la Nación Argentina” Award (2013), the Shanghai Archaeological Forum Research Award (2025), and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2024).