Violence in the Amazon: Difference between revisions
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Since the early colonial expeditions to the Americas, the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin have had a reputation for high levels of violence and warfare. These reportedly high levels of violence are disputable as to whether or not they are actually higher than other civilizations in the world. The origins and root causes of these high levels of violence are also disputable. There are several theories, all with legitimate reason (some more than others) and these theories are continually debated upon and continue to be further investigated by ethnographers and anthropologists from around the world. Of all the theories out there pertaining to the causes of the violence in the Amazon Basin, the most well-founded and reliable theories are founded on the notion that warfare and violence are caused by practical and internal conditions and relationships. Of course there is great variation in these theories, as each one emphasizes a unique aspect of the demographical and ecological conditions of the Amazonian Basin. | Since the early colonial expeditions to the Americas, the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin have had a reputation for high levels of violence and warfare. These reportedly high levels of violence are disputable as to whether or not they are actually higher than other civilizations in the world. The origins and root causes of these high levels of violence are also disputable. There are several theories, all with legitimate reason (some more than others) and these theories are continually debated upon and continue to be further investigated by ethnographers and anthropologists from around the world. Of all the theories out there pertaining to the causes of the violence in the Amazon Basin, the most well-founded and reliable theories are founded on the notion that warfare and violence are caused by practical and internal conditions and relationships. Of course there is great variation in these theories, as each one emphasizes a unique aspect of the demographical and ecological conditions of the Amazonian Basin. | ||
The first to be discussed is the theory of basic human nature, originated by Raymond Dart in his article “The Predatory Transition From Ape to Man” in 1953 and then popularized by Robert Ardrey in his book “African Genesis” seventeen years later. This theory has taken on the name of “ The Killer Ape Theory,” as it asserts that humans, by nature, are violent primates and identifies the human being as “the killer ape.” According to this theory, the early ancestors of humans were distinguished from other primate species by their higher levels of aggressiveness and this aggressiveness resonates in the nature of the modern day human. While this theory may seem quite convincing, as it falls in with the natural process of evolution, it seriously lacks hard evidence to support the notion that murderous instincts remain deeply ingrained in man. Today, this theory is not considered reasonable and has never been widely accepted among the science world as an explanation to the innate violence of human kind, nor does it explain why one group of people would be more violent than another. | |||
Revision as of 16:06, 10 March 2008
Since the early colonial expeditions to the Americas, the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin have had a reputation for high levels of violence and warfare. These reportedly high levels of violence are disputable as to whether or not they are actually higher than other civilizations in the world. The origins and root causes of these high levels of violence are also disputable. There are several theories, all with legitimate reason (some more than others) and these theories are continually debated upon and continue to be further investigated by ethnographers and anthropologists from around the world. Of all the theories out there pertaining to the causes of the violence in the Amazon Basin, the most well-founded and reliable theories are founded on the notion that warfare and violence are caused by practical and internal conditions and relationships. Of course there is great variation in these theories, as each one emphasizes a unique aspect of the demographical and ecological conditions of the Amazonian Basin.
The first to be discussed is the theory of basic human nature, originated by Raymond Dart in his article “The Predatory Transition From Ape to Man” in 1953 and then popularized by Robert Ardrey in his book “African Genesis” seventeen years later. This theory has taken on the name of “ The Killer Ape Theory,” as it asserts that humans, by nature, are violent primates and identifies the human being as “the killer ape.” According to this theory, the early ancestors of humans were distinguished from other primate species by their higher levels of aggressiveness and this aggressiveness resonates in the nature of the modern day human. While this theory may seem quite convincing, as it falls in with the natural process of evolution, it seriously lacks hard evidence to support the notion that murderous instincts remain deeply ingrained in man. Today, this theory is not considered reasonable and has never been widely accepted among the science world as an explanation to the innate violence of human kind, nor does it explain why one group of people would be more violent than another.