River floodplain relocations and the abandonment of Aborigine settlements in the Upper Amazon Basin: A historical case study of San Miguel de Cunibos at the Middle Ucayali River |
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| Authors: | Martti H Pärssinen Jukka S Salo Matti E Räsänen |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN-20500 Turku, Finland;2. Department of Quaternary Geology, University of Turku, FIN-20500 Turku, Finland |
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| Abstract: | Lathrap introduced the concept of lateral channel migration of the meandering rivers as a potential factor for human community dynamics in the Upper Amazon. Nevertheless, the dynamics considered by Lathrap is restricted to particular floodplains. He payed no attention to a large scale fluvial phenomenom: the sudden river relocations (avulsion), which also profoundly affected the Upper Amazon cultures. We present here a historical case study analyzing a river floodplain avulsion at the Middle Ucayali River during the late 1700s, causing the abandonment of a settlement called San Miguel de Cunibos and probably leading to the massive migration of the Cunibos Indians. Furthermore, we argue that similar situations have frequently occurred during the human history of the Upper Amazon, and thus these fluvial phenomena should be taken into consideration in future archaeological and ethnohistorical studies. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
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