Staller Editor
Pre-Columbian Andean and Mesoamerican cultures have inspired a
special fascination among historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, as
well as the general public. As two of the earliest known and studied
civilizations, their origin and creation mythologies hold a special interest.
The contemporary and Pre-Columbian cultures from these regions are
particularly known for having a strong connection with the natural
landscape, and weaving it into their mythologies. A landscape approach
to archaeology in these areas is uniquely useful shedding insight into
their cultural beliefs, practices, and values. The ways in which these
cultures imbued their landscape with symbolic significance influenced
the settlement of the population, the construction of monuments, as well
as their rituals and practices.
CD-ROM
INCLUDED
Pre-Columbian Landscapes of Creation and Origin
Edited by John Edward Staller, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL
SOCIAL SCIENCES /
ANTHROPOLO GY
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-76909-7

----
ISBN-10:
0-387-76909-9
EAN
9 780387 769097
› springer.com
Pre-Columbian Landscapes
of Creation and Origin
This edited volume combines research on the cultures throughout
Mesoamerica and South America, examining their natural environments,
constructed monuments and ritual practices. It explores the foundations
of these cultures, through both the creation mythologies of ancient
societies as well as the tangible results of those beliefs. It offers insight on
specific case studies, combining evidence from the archaeological record
with sacred texts and modern ethnography. The patterns developed
throughout this work shed insight on the effect that perceived
sacredness can have on the development of culture and society. This
comprehensive and much-needed work will be of interest to
archaeologists and anthropologists focused on Pre-Columbian studies, as
well as those in the fields of cultural or religious studies with a broader
geographic focus.
John Edward Staller
Editor
Pre-Columbian
Landscapes
of Creation
and Origin
CD-ROM
INCLUDED
Chapter 6
Fig. 6.1 Illustrative map locating Isoso in Guarani territory along the Parapeti River in the
Bolivian Chaco region
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WHEN THERE IS WATER
Rain
Abundance
Sadness
Social Unity
Social Dispersion
Fiesta
Scarcity
Drought
WHEN THERE IS NO WATER
Fig. 6.2 Isoso—A bipolar temporal world shaped by the Parapeti River
N
B
ab
Lower Isoso
LEFT -
RIGHT
E
W
RIGHT- LEFT
Upper Isoso
A
Parapetí or
Isoso River
ab
S
Fig. 6.3 Upper and Lower Isoso
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B
ab
iz
b1
dr
b2
Wetlands of Isoso
Yandeyarì
E
O
a2
dr
iz
a1
Isoso or
Parapetí River
ab
A
S
Fig. 6.4 The many opposing halves created by the river of Isoso
N
B
ab
E
O
ab
A
S
Fig. 6.5 The direction of flooding outside the banks of the river
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NE
B
Guandare
Guìraendì
Aguaratï
Pikìrenda
Koropo
ab
Iyovi
Aguaraigua
Guirapembìrenda
Yarumbairu
Tamachindi
Guirayoasa/Brecha
ab
Ivasiriri
Yapiroa
Kapeatindi
Kopere
Isiporenda
A
Fig. 6.6. Locations and geographic distribution of present day Guarani communities in Isoso
B
NE
Guìraendì
Paravoca
Tamané
San Silvestre
Yuki
ab
PuestoTamachindi
Puesto Itaï
Puesto Matico
Puesto Garcia
ab
A
Fig. 6.7 Location and geographic distribution of present day population centers of “karai”
(Whites), living opposite the communities of Guarani in Isoso
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N
Day
Night
Upper
Ara
W
E
Isoso
Lower
Guì
S
Fig. 6.8 The Isoso Guarani World
N
ab
World of
“the Others”
B
Our
World
O
E
ab
A
S
Fig. 6.9 Our World–Others’ World
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“Yandeyarì”
“Okupe”
back patio
Ìupaya
Fishers
“Oka” -“patio”
Fig. 6.10 Yandeyari ritual circle and center in the waters
Plate 6.1 The Parapeti River snakes through the forested plains of Isoso in the Gran Chaco
Sudamericano ecoregion—the largest remaining dry forest in the world, and the second largest
ecosystem in South America after the Amazon
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Plate 6.2 A. Isoseño children climbing dunes of the Parapeti River, helping each other upward,
reflecting the Isoseño way of uniting to overcome challenges in the world that also constantly
changes beneath their feet (photo courtesy of CPI Chaco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia). B. Trees are consumed by the moving Parapeti dunes, and the dead treetops show the past location of forested banks
(photo courtesy of Fundación Yeporaka, Camiri, Bolivia)
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Plate 6.3 People cross from one side to the other of the Parapeti River when the water is just
beginning to arrive, flowing in ankle-deep rivulets above the sand. In the time of water, people
continue walk across the river, because it rises no more than chest-deep. The invisible waters running under the sands make the riverbed dangerous for vehicles which sink and disappear. In the
distant flat horizon, dense forest is visible on the banks of the river where Isoseños have their
communities (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
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Plate 6.4 Isoseño women in the patio pounding maize, the basic element of Isoseño food and
culture, the production of which depends on irrigation from the waters that flow intermittently in
the Parapeti River (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
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Plate 6.5 Places like the roadway, shown here, or the borders of the river where people pass are
the types of landscapes that typically serve as scenes for the Fox stories. The Toboroche, a common
tree with a swollen trunk, stands in mid-road here. This is the type of tree that figures in the Fox
story about the origin of the Parapeti River (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
Plate 6.6 Isoseños are seated in a typical circle, discussing a project around a tree in the patio.
Also visible are a satellite TV antennae, a solar panel, and a cistern for drinking water constructed
by development projects administered through the Capitania de Alto y Bajo Isoso (CABI) Guarani
local government (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
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Plate 6.7 Isoso dancers wear masks representing the Iya and the ancestors during fiestas. After
the dance concludes, the masks are thrown into the Parapeti river to be carried back to the east
from whence the ancestors came (photo courtesy of Fundación Yeporaka, Camiri, Bolivia)
Plate 6.8 Isoseños are fishing according to their customs and rules although to the outsider it may
appear to be a free-for-all. The river fills with fish returning from the Yandayeri wetlands, swimming back upriver at the time when the waters begin to disappear (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco,
Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
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Plate 6.9 The huge Parapeti River dunes, created and moved by fierce winter winds, are shown
below a typical summer sky. Those who fish at night hear the flute music of the Iya accompanying
them reaching their ears from the dunes of the Parapeti (photo courtesy of CPI-Chaco, Santa Cruz,
Bolivia)
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