"Papers presented at a conference held at the Museu Goeldi in Beleḿ in 1987 serve as an introduction to concepts, methods, and problems in the anthropology and history of indigenous Amazonia. Collection reflects thematic diversity and theoretical dynamics of Amazonian ethnology, consolidating new areas of research such as analyzing historicity in its political and symbolic dimensions, critically rethinking classic areas of study such as kinship and social organization, deepening interpretation of native cosmologies, and evaluating interaction between socio- and biodiversity in Amazonia"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.