It is our pleasure to deliver to our Brazilian and international readers the first issue of Amazônica. The adjective Amazônica (or Amazônico, which goes with masculine nouns) relates to everything that is native to the region, such as this journal. The idea behind the creation of an anthropological journal focused on Amazonian issues was a simple one: to bring together scientists working in the various countries which make up the greater Amazonia, debating the ways by which human beings in society have dealt with the challenges they have faced in the tropical forest throughout time.
We, both editors and editorial board, as many of you who are interested in looking at the particularities of human experience in tropical environments have in mind that such a task is an interdisciplinary one. During the 20th century, we have seen our discipline being divided in different subfields and University departments, which might have helped deepen our capacity of studying specific subjects, but have also handicapped our ability of thinking most problems involving human groups with the interdisciplinary approach and breath they require. For this reason, besides being a forum for debating anthropological research in its four classical subfields – sociocultural, archaeology, biological and linguistics – Amazônica aims to encourage the creation of undergraduate and post-graduate courses focused on four field Anthropology.
A first step towards the construction of a more integrated way of doing Anthropology was taken when some of us organized the International Symposium “Antropologia em Foco: Campos Interdisciplinares para o Estudo do Outro” (Focusing Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Fields for the Study of the Other), which took place in September 25-26, 2008, at the Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém. In that occasion, a group of professors from UFPA, together with highly regarded anthropologists from Brazil and United States discussed four field anthropology, and a proposal for creating a four field graduate course in UFPA. Two of the papers presented at that moment, one by Dr. Francisco M. Salzano, and another one by Dr. William Balée are part of this first issue of Amazônica, where the authors discuss the construction of the anthropological discipline in Brazil and US.
This issue brings seven original articles, one research report, a beautiful photographic essay, and other minor, but not less important contributions such as current research, book reviews, and thesis and dissertation’s abstracts. Our contributors are both senior and young anthropologists from different nationalities and anthropological subfields, writing in four different languages, helpings us to remember that anthropology should not respect barriers in its search for a broad understanding of the other.
Finally, we would like to express gratitude to our amazing editorial board, assistant editors, and a number of anonymous reviewers who together selected the articles and works we now present, as well as warmly thank all our contributors who made it possible this remarkable edition.
Denise P. Schaan & Jane F. Beltrão