Domestication model of Amazonian forests, illustrated by the Indigenous artist Yaka Hunikuin. Inspired by Amazonian Indigenous worldviews, this model emphasizes the existence of diverse beings – humans, animals, plants, and others – whose interconnected actions shape and sustain cultural landscapes.

By Mariana Franco Cassino, Guilherme Henriques Soares, Gilton Mendes Dos Santos, Jonilda Hauwer Gouveia, João Paulo Lima Barreto, Dagoberto Lima Azevedo, Gabriel Sodré Maia, Juliana Lins; Clarinda Maria Ramos, Myrtle P. Shock, Marco Madella, and Charles R. Clement.

Read the full paper here.

Over at least 14,000 years of continuous human presence, Indigenous Peoples in Amazonia shaped forests into rich, food-abundant and healthy ecosystems. The Amazonian biome, therefore, is better understood as a mosaic of domesticated landscapes rather than a “wilderness area”, as conventionally assumed by many ecologists. The connections Amazonian Peoples establish with ecosystem elements are rooted in worldviews radically different from those of the West. In Western thought, nature and culture are considered distinct realms, with humans occupying an exceptional position above other beings. But for Amazonian Indigenous Peoples, animals, plants, and invisible beings that inhabit the air, water and forest domains are endowed with humanity, will and social attributes. They exert fundamental agency in the cultivation, care and protection of plant communities and landscapes. Therefore, understanding Amazonian ecosystems involves delving into Amazonian knowledge systems. These knowledge systems frame the relationships among humans and non-humans and reveal the ways in which local landscapes are co-created and maintained.

Conventional domestication models are fundamental for interpreting human-plant-animal-landscape relationships. However, in the Amazonian context they have faced criticism for being steeped in the Western logic of human control over nature, overlooking Indigenous values and worldviews. In response, we propose a thought-provoking exercise inspired by Indigenous worldviews to expand ideas about domestication. By taking Amazonian Indigenous perspectives seriously, we built a domestication model in which animals, plants and immaterial beings appear in symmetrical positions to humans in the collective endeavor to transform and maintain cultural landscapes.

We envision that our model can be used as a framework to highlight non-human agency in socio-ecological research, breaking down the usual dichotomies and hierarchies between the social and ecological realms. This approach aims to foster a more holistic understanding of the relationships among people and ecosystems. We hope it inspires the elaboration of more encompassing research questions and data interpretation, supported by the wealth of Western ecology methodologies aimed at evaluating the relationships between organisms and their environments. Our perspective is, above all, an invitation to think with. Thinking with Indigenous Peoples, thinking with anthropologists, thinking with plants, animals and other non-human beings. Thinking with what is different from ourselves can expand our understanding of the world.