Sacred Geographies of Ancient Amazonia

Discovering Ancient Amazonia

The legendary El Dorado—the city of gold—remains a mere legend, but astonishing new discoveries are revealing a major civilization in ancient Amazonia that was more complex than anyone previously dreamed.

Challenging Old Views

Scholars have long insisted that the Amazonian ecosystem placed severe limits on the size and complexity of its ancient cultures, but leading researcher Denise Schaan reverses that view, synthesizing exciting new evidence of large-scale land and resource management to tell a new history of indigenous Amazonia.

Engaging Fundamental Debates

Schaan also engages fundamental debates about the development of social complexity and the importance of ancient Amazonia from a global perspective.

A Major Contribution

This innovative, interdisciplinary book is a major contribution to the study of human-environment relations, social complexity, and past and present indigenous societies.