"South America, particularly its lowlands, was once considered the least known continent. Fifty years of research have changed that entirely. This is more than evident in this compendium, which not only summarises the current state of the art, especially in Amazonian ethnology, but also includes innovative chapters on the cutting edge of the discipline, some of them written by indigenous authors. A true achievement."Aparecida Vilaça, Professor of Social Anthropology at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro"From Guyana to Chile, from Ecuador to Argentina, this groundbreaking volume foregrounds Indigenous voices and Indigenous scholarship in situating the Lowland South American world today. Each one of the forty essays contained within offers a unique perspective, and collectively they address a wide variety of essential themes, from religion to politics, from economy to environment. The volume promises to be required and provocative reading for both students and scholars of the region for many years to come."Magnus Course, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at University of Edinburgh