tour 1 of 18
Unknown Amazon
Unknown Amazon
Amazonia is a land of many rivers which eventually join to form
the mainstream Amazon, carrying to the sea the rains and silt which
feed the greatest forest in the world. Most of Amazonia is in
Brazil, but an extensive network of tributaries flow into it from
the neighbouring countries of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela
and Ecuador, all of which share the environment and culture of the
South American tropical lowlands.
The vast reaches of the Amazonian rainforest have been lived in
and shaped by human hands for thousands of years. Long before
Europeans arrived in the Americas this deep history of human
interaction with river and forest gave rise to enduring cultural
traditions and sophisticated art styles. Today people's lives are
closely intertwined with the plants and animals of the forest for
their practical value as well as their symbolic significance.
Native Amazonians, or Amerindians, belong to a multitude of
different ethnic groups with their own languages and cultures, but
also sharing a common cultural tradition. Their story can be told
in many ways through oral and written histories, objects and
images. They often speak of the Amazon as a serpent, and the plan
of the exhibition is based on this idea of a serpentine river which
winds its way through the Amazonian past and present. This tour
shows a selection of the artefacts that formed an exhibition
at the British Museum from 26 October 200 to 1 April 2002.
Illustration: An aerial view of a white water
tributary that will eventually drain into the Amazon.