Description: The Xilixana Yanomami, an Indian tribe of the northern Amazon Basin in Brazil, has been widely studied as the largest indigenous people to retain a traditional way of life. Breaking new ground, this book presents the most complete account available of the Yanomami before and after their encounter with the modern world.

Recapturing details of the group's history and demography back to 1930, the authors describe the fortunes and misfortunes of the Yanomami over a period of nearly seven decades, including 28 years prior to their first contact with the outside world. For each of eight villages, they present a complete demographic profile of fertility, mortality, and migration. They also explain some of the mysteries of Yanomami social structure and offer specific information on both the number and the reasons for the tribe's infanticide.

The historical sweep of the book finds the contemporary Yanomami in a life-or-death situation, with their health seriously threatened by contact with infectious disease and their land being expropriated by government action and inaction. It also shows the impact of the modern industrial world on the Brazilian rain forest and its tribal inhabitants.

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