Ethnogeography and Resource Use among the Yanomami.

Study of the spatial patterns of land use and forest resource exploitation by a Yanomami community in northern Amazonia (Brazil) combining high-resolution satellite imagery and global positioning system survey data with ethnogeographic fieldwork shows that its natural-resource use is configured in terms of "reticular space" rather than a set of discrete concentric exploitation "zones." This model of reticular space has general relevance for the Yanomami and other Amazonian indigenous groups. The research reported demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary methodology for gathering data on ethnogeographic practices and knowledge that are essential for the appropriate demarcation of indigenous protected areas and the long-term sustainable management of their environment in the Amazon and other tropical-forest environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]