"Compilation of articles on native inhabitants of the Amazon. Pt. 1 traces important ethnohistorical transition, a period of convulsive change in indigenous societies during European conquest and colonization from the 16th-20th century. During this time, many groups had to adapt to greatly changed circumstances, some forms of society disappeared, and new ones developed. Pt. 2 deals with subsistence, health, and reproductive strategies of Amazonian Indians; and impact of historical, political, and socioeconomic factors on their changing forms. Pt. 3 addresses influence of Amazonian peoples' changing ecological, economic and social contexts on ideology and organization"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.