One of the most persistent myths about Amazonia is that it has long been a wilderness, virtually untouched by humans until relatively recently. Amazonian forests are often portrayed as sparsely settled or essentially empty until modern times (Dickinson, 1987; Salati, 1987). The idea that the vast Amazon lowlands have been bypassed by human civilization and have lingered as a cultural backwater has pervaded thinking about the region and has undoubtedly played a part in shaping attitudes towards development. In the early 1970s, for example, the Brazilian agency for colonization and agrarian reform talked about the %u201Cdemographic void%u201D in Amazonia in its publications dealing with ambitious settlement schemes for the region (INCRA, 1973). The perception of Amazonia as raw, untamed nature awaiting modern development with few procedents has led to some inappropriate policy decisions.