﻿ABORIGINAL 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  CULTURE 
  — 
  COOPER 
  437 
  

  

  polygyny, 
  and 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  rather 
  strict 
  monogamy; 
  the 
  typical 
  

   political 
  unit 
  a 
  small 
  band, 
  usually 
  made 
  up 
  of 
  relatives, 
  with 
  bands 
  

   occasionally 
  forming 
  loosely 
  cohesive 
  tribes 
  with 
  or 
  without 
  chief- 
  

   taincy 
  of 
  limited 
  power; 
  moieties 
  and 
  moietylike 
  tribal 
  divisions 
  

   as 
  a 
  rule 
  absent, 
  but 
  reported 
  among 
  the 
  Yaruro, 
  Bororo, 
  and 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  Ge 
  peoples, 
  the 
  moiety 
  organization 
  among 
  the 
  latter 
  

   being 
  of 
  marked 
  complexity; 
  levirate, 
  sororate, 
  and 
  avoidances 
  of 
  

   fairly 
  wide 
  distribution; 
  among 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  tribes, 
  especially 
  

   the 
  Yaruro 
  and 
  Ona, 
  land-tenure 
  systems 
  resembling 
  closely 
  the 
  

   northeastern 
  North 
  American 
  family 
  hunting-ground 
  system; 
  sha- 
  

   manism, 
  but 
  absence 
  of 
  priesthood; 
  religion 
  in 
  general 
  seemingly 
  a 
  

   little 
  more 
  animistic 
  than 
  manistic, 
  with 
  well-defined 
  theism 
  among 
  

   at 
  least 
  a 
  good 
  many 
  groups, 
  and 
  recorded 
  in 
  detail 
  among 
  the 
  

   Fuegians, 
  the 
  Apinaye, 
  and 
  the 
  Yaruro 
  (pi. 
  4, 
  upper). 
  

  

  2. 
  Silval 
  culture}* 
  — 
  The 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  Silval 
  culture 
  includes 
  not 
  

   only 
  the 
  broad 
  Amazonian-Orinoco 
  forested 
  region 
  with 
  its 
  adjacent 
  

   and 
  enclosed 
  savannas, 
  but 
  also 
  the 
  Guianas, 
  the 
  West 
  Indies, 
  most 
  

   of 
  Middle 
  America 
  from 
  Honduras 
  to 
  the 
  Isthmus, 
  the 
  rain-forest 
  

   belt 
  of 
  the 
  Colombian 
  and 
  eastern 
  Brazilian 
  coast, 
  the 
  temperate 
  

   rain 
  forests 
  of 
  southern 
  Brazil 
  and 
  the 
  Parana-Paraguay 
  region, 
  

   and 
  the 
  forested 
  Andean 
  foothills 
  bordering 
  the 
  northern 
  Chaco. 
  

  

  As 
  in 
  the 
  Marginal 
  culture, 
  so 
  in 
  the 
  Silval 
  culture 
  there 
  are 
  in- 
  

   numerable 
  and 
  important 
  local 
  differences, 
  but 
  underlying 
  these 
  there 
  

   is 
  a 
  quite 
  perceptible 
  uniformity. 
  These 
  more 
  uniform 
  character- 
  

   istics 
  of 
  this 
  far-flung 
  Silval 
  culture 
  may 
  be 
  summed 
  up 
  about 
  as 
  

   follows: 
  Horticulture 
  universal, 
  with 
  use 
  of 
  dibble 
  rather 
  than 
  hoe, 
  

   and 
  carried 
  on 
  under 
  the 
  slash-and-burn, 
  shifting-cropping 
  or 
  milpa 
  

   system; 
  manioc 
  (pi. 
  2, 
  upper), 
  sweet 
  or 
  bitter, 
  a, 
  or 
  the, 
  basic 
  staple 
  

   over 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  area, 
  with, 
  however, 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  maize, 
  beans, 
  

   sweetpotatoes, 
  and 
  so 
  forth 
  ; 
  the 
  dog, 
  at 
  present, 
  practically 
  but 
  not 
  

   quite 
  universal; 
  widespread 
  use 
  of 
  poison 
  in 
  fishing, 
  and, 
  toward 
  the 
  

   northwest 
  particularly, 
  of 
  the 
  blowgun 
  with 
  curare-poisoned 
  darts 
  in 
  

   hunting; 
  tobacco 
  and 
  alcoholic 
  beverages 
  throughout 
  the 
  area, 
  the 
  

   latter 
  made 
  with 
  mastication 
  (except 
  of 
  course 
  for 
  wines 
  and 
  mead) 
  

   and 
  indulged 
  in 
  to 
  intoxication 
  at 
  festival 
  drinking 
  sprees; 
  canni- 
  

   balism 
  widespread, 
  particularly 
  but 
  not 
  exclusively 
  among 
  Tupi- 
  and 
  

   Carib-speaking 
  peoples 
  ; 
  well-made 
  but 
  simple 
  pottery, 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  

   reported 
  archeologically 
  and 
  ethnologically 
  of 
  unusually 
  good 
  type 
  as 
  

   at 
  Santarem 
  and 
  around 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Amazon 
  ; 
  notable 
  meagerness 
  

   or 
  absence 
  of 
  clothing, 
  with, 
  however, 
  rather 
  elaborate 
  body 
  adorn- 
  

   ment, 
  particularly 
  f 
  eatherwork 
  ; 
  lip 
  plug 
  of 
  fairly 
  wide 
  distribution 
  ; 
  

  

  u 
  Our 
  best 
  reviews 
  of 
  culture 
  of 
  area 
  are 
  Krickeberg, 
  1022 
  and 
  1939. 
  For 
  distributions 
  

   of 
  material 
  culture 
  elements, 
  see 
  Nordenskiold, 
  1919, 
  1920, 
  1924, 
  1931. 
  For 
  social 
  organi- 
  

   zation, 
  see 
  Kirchhoff, 
  1931 
  ; 
  Haeckel, 
  1938. 
  For 
  sources, 
  see 
  Gillin, 
  1940 
  ; 
  Pericot, 
  1936. 
  

   566766 
  — 
  44 
  29 
  

  

  