Domestic Space and cultural transformation among the Awá of Eastern Amazonia

GONZALEZ RUIBAL, A.; POLITIS, GUSTAVO; HERNANDO GONZALO, A.; BESERRA COHELO, E.

Archaeological Invisibility & Forgotten Knowledge, Ethnoarchaeology of Ephemeral cultural aspects

BAR International Series

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2010; p. 154 - 171

In this article we offer a descriptive review of the domestic structures of the Awá. The culture of the Awá is being transformed due to the pressure that the National Indian Department (FUNAI) is exerting on them after their inclusion in protected reservations, where they are forced to cultivate. The Awá however present different degrees of resistance to this pressure, which are expressed through the use of space and house building, among other things. We aim to show how their economic and cultural strategy and the degree of acceptance of an agricultural way of life are closely associated with certain types of domestic structure.