INDIGENOUS TRANSFORMATION OF AMAZONIAN FORESTS - AN EXAMPLE FROM MARANHAO, BRAZIL

This article seeks to clarify past relationships between certain indigenous societies and regional biodiversity in Amazonia. It presents new evidence that indigenous peoples possessing an agroforetry complex may have enhanced rather than diminished regional biodiversity, at least in the domain of plants. The analysis rests on a comparison of the similarities and differences between anthropogenic forests and undisturbed forests in the phytogeographic region known as ''Pre-Amazonia''. The author discusses the possible extent to which indigenous planning and ecological knowledge was involved in the formation of such forests and in the increased plant diversity in the region.