Extractivism and Gathering in the Amazon: overview and outline of a techno-environmental approach
Amazon; extractivism; gathering; anthropology of techniques; vegetal.
The present dissertation aims to carry out two investigative movements that culminate in a
theoretical-conceptual approach involving the extractive gathering activity in the Amazon. The
first movement concerns a recovery of the mobilizations and the historical-contextual trajectory
of the use of the term gathering in anthropology. The second movement follows the same
process but centers on the term extractivism, expanding its scope to the human sciences. These
movements emphasize certain aspects and crystallizations regarding the extractive gathering
activities, particularly those concerning trees and plants. I understand these categories as not
merely descriptive labels, but analytical prisms of diverse realities. It becomes evident that the
use of these categories can be slippery and, at times, confusing. Notions such as 'primitivism,'
'low technology,' 'low impact activity,' 'wild/domesticated' oppositions, 'nature/culture,' among
others, have been and still are, to varying degrees, elaborated or reified in various texts and
research that seek to explore the reality of extractivism. Therefore, in the final movement, I aim
to outline an anthropological approach that can dismantle many of these arguments which,
ultimately, obscure certain aspects and dimensions of the plant extractive gathering activity.
Thus, I employ an approach that emphasizes the constitutive dynamics of extractivism, not its
absences. Techniques, gestures, and modes of action are presented as a possibility for a new
understanding of the extractive activity in the Amazon. I conclude that the exploration of
movements, flows, and forms of mediation within a techno-environmental approach can help
better understand multiple extractivist ontologies and the constitution of Amazonian extractivist
selves.