Amazon rainforestLarge rainforest in South AmericaThe Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle, Amazonia, or simply the Amazon, is a moist broadleaftropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7 million km (2.7 million sq mi), of which 6 million km (2.3 million sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 indigenous territories.
OrinocoThe Orinoco (Spanish pronunciation:) is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km (1,330 mi). Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1,000,000 km (390,000 sq mi), with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia.
Yanomaman languagesYanomaman, also as Yanomam, Yanomáman, Yamomámi, and Yanomamana (also Shamatari, Shirianan), is a family of languages spoken by about 20,000 Yanomami people in southern Venezuela and northwestern Brazil (Roraima, Amazonas). SubdivisionFerreira et al. (2019)Ferreira, Machado & Senra (2019) divide the Yanomaman family into two branches, with six languages in total.
RoraimaRoraima (English: , rə-RY-mə ; Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈɾajmɐ] or [ʁoˈɾɐ̃jmɐ]) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas to the south and west, Venezuela to the north and northwest, and Guyana to the east.Ninam languageNinam, or Yanam, is a Yanomaman language spoken in Roraima, Brazil (800 speakers) and southern Venezuela near the Mucajai, upper Uraricaá, and Paragua rivers. SynonymyYanam is also known by the following names: Ninam, Yanam–Ninam, Xirianá, Shiriana Casapare, Kasrapai, Jawaperi, Crichana, Jawari, Shiriana, Eastern Yanomaman. Regional variationGordon (2009) reports 2 main varieties (Northern, Southern).
VenezuelaVenezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and various islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of 912,050 km (352,140 sq mi), with a population estimated at 31.8 million in 2025. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is Caracas.Napoleon ChagnonNapoleon Alphonseau Chagnon (27 August 1938 – 21 September 2019) was an American cultural anthropologist, professor of sociocultural anthropology at the University of Missouri in Columbia and member of the National Academy of Sciences. Chagnon was known for his long-term ethnographic field work among the Yanomamö/Yanomami, a society of Indigenous tribal Amazonians, in which he used an evolutionary approach to understand social behavior in terms of genetic relatedness.Jacques LizotJacques Lizot (11 February 1938 – 22 June 2022) was a French anthropologist and linguist. He lived among the Yanomami people in Venezuela for over 20 years, documenting their culture and language. Among his writings are the 1976 book The Yanomami in the Face of Ethnocide, the 1985 book Tales of the Yanomami: Daily Life in the Venezuelan Forest and the 2004 Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Yanomami Language.
YeꞌkuanaThe Yeꞌkuana, also called Yeꞌkwana, YeꞌKuana, Yekuana, Yequana, Yecuana, Dekuana, Maquiritare, Makiritare, Soꞌto and Maiongong, are a Cariban-speaking tropical rain-forest tribe who live in the Caura River and Orinoco River regions of Venezuela in Bolivar State and Amazonas State. In Brazil, they inhabit the northeast of Roraima State. In Venezuela, the Yeꞌkuana live alongside their former enemies, the Sanumá (Yanomami subgroup).
BrazilBrazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 214 million people. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro.
EthnonymAn ethnonym (from Ancient Greek (éthnos)'nation' and (ónoma)'name') is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used by the ethnic group itself). For example, the dominant ethnic group of Germany is the Germans.
Indigenous peoples of the AmericasThe Indigenous peoples of the Americas, also called Indians, Amerindians, or simply Natives, are the peoples who are native to the Americas or the Western Hemisphere. Their ancestors are among the pre-Columbian population of South or North America, including Central America and the Caribbean. Indigenous peoples live throughout the Americas. There are at least 1,000 different Indigenous languages of the Americas still in use in the 21st century.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.