Laurence Blair

You know, you've got these kind of tabletop mountains in Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, a cloud forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes, big cities, you know, in Manaus and Belém, they're about, you know, 30 million people or so who live in the Amazon today. And of course, also, we have this kind of marshy swampland near the mouth of the river and these kind of floodplains in northern Bolivia.

So it's really, you know, it's a kind of mosaic of different landscapes. And of course, we look very different, you know, 500, 1,000, 10,000 years ago. perhaps a bit drier, perhaps more savanna dispersed with the forest.

So it's really, you know, it's a kind of mosaic of different landscapes. And of course, we look very different, you know, 500, 1,000, 10,000 years ago. perhaps a bit drier, perhaps more savanna dispersed with the forest.

So it's really, you know, it's a kind of mosaic of different landscapes. And of course, we look very different, you know, 500, 1,000, 10,000 years ago. perhaps a bit drier, perhaps more savanna dispersed with the forest.

And I think one key concept to think about is this idea of this pristine rainforest today that we're looking at and still exists in some places is actually a bit more like a very carefully tended garden that's grown wild.

And I think one key concept to think about is this idea of this pristine rainforest today that we're looking at and still exists in some places is actually a bit more like a very carefully tended garden that's grown wild.

And I think one key concept to think about is this idea of this pristine rainforest today that we're looking at and still exists in some places is actually a bit more like a very carefully tended garden that's grown wild.

Exactly. We're talking about flood plains which don't have forests, but during the season where the river is lower, grasses grow. We're talking about patches of grassland interspersed with forest. It's really a mixture. The Amazon connects with ecosystems on all different sides as well. So really a diverse and very biodiverse landscape.

Exactly. We're talking about flood plains which don't have forests, but during the season where the river is lower, grasses grow. We're talking about patches of grassland interspersed with forest. It's really a mixture. The Amazon connects with ecosystems on all different sides as well. So really a diverse and very biodiverse landscape.

Exactly. We're talking about flood plains which don't have forests, but during the season where the river is lower, grasses grow. We're talking about patches of grassland interspersed with forest. It's really a mixture. The Amazon connects with ecosystems on all different sides as well. So really a diverse and very biodiverse landscape.

It holds millions and millions of species, many of which we probably haven't even discovered yet.

It holds millions and millions of species, many of which we probably haven't even discovered yet.

It holds millions and millions of species, many of which we probably haven't even discovered yet.

Absolutely. We're talking about a huge cultural diversity, you know, hundreds of different groups, thousands even with hundreds of different languages, you know, whose ways of life probably change over the millennia. You know, we have small groups of anarchistic hunter-gatherers who are quite sort of most democratic, perhaps in the way they run their affairs.

Absolutely. We're talking about a huge cultural diversity, you know, hundreds of different groups, thousands even with hundreds of different languages, you know, whose ways of life probably change over the millennia. You know, we have small groups of anarchistic hunter-gatherers who are quite sort of most democratic, perhaps in the way they run their affairs.

Absolutely. We're talking about a huge cultural diversity, you know, hundreds of different groups, thousands even with hundreds of different languages, you know, whose ways of life probably change over the millennia. You know, we have small groups of anarchistic hunter-gatherers who are quite sort of most democratic, perhaps in the way they run their affairs.

Then you have these seasonal farmers, you

Then you have these seasonal farmers, you

Then you have these seasonal farmers, you

have big urban centers which we'll talk about in a little bit and some of these people of course are still around you know there's descendants are still here and they still have a lot to teach us others of course are no longer here and we don't even know their names and i think that this is the real challenge we have here you know you know the meshika or the maya even the inca you know they had some forms of writing you know the inca had the khipu with these kind of