2 ms·
>Pretty much no-one is pushing the notion of a "pristine" pre-colonial Amazon. Growing up I was taught the pre-colonial Amazon was pristine, and it has been on
by woodandsteel 10y ago
>Pretty much no-one is pushing the notion of a "pristine" pre-colonial Amazon.
Growing up I was taught the pre-colonial Amazon was pristine, and it has been only in recent years I have started to hear a different story. I bet most people in the US still believe the pristine idea.
- rosser 10y agoI have no idea how old you are, but it's not at all surprising to me that a narrative like that is the one that propagates through the broader culture. Among other things, it speaks to how the enlightened Europeans brought civilization and what-not to the benighted savages of the New World. We like those narratives... AFAIK, though, among the people who actually study this, or have cared to look into these matters for themselves (for whatever reason), that idea has no traction.
- woodandsteel 10y agoI generally agree with what you are saying. My problem was that when you said "nobody" I thought you meant people in general, not just the researchers in the field. Furthermore, you seemed to be saying that articles like this shouldn't be published because people already know these facts. But I say they are good to publish because they help correct the views of the general public. Would you agree?
- rosser 10y agoOh, totally, there should be articles correcting the common notion, for the people who'd care enough to read them. This site didn't strike me as targeted at lay audiences, though.