This article presents some major aspects of environmental resource management by the Guaraní indigenous people in southern Brazil and the Río de La Plata basin. Drawing upon a broad interdisciplinary database from various authors since the 16th century AD, we suggest that the Guaraní passed down a system of knowledge about their particular way of life through many generations, which had begun in the Amazon region where they originated. This system was based on the form and function of their material culture, as well as their knowledge of their surroundings including the plants and animals there, and their practices. Their subsistence was based upon the long-term cultivation and management of a wide range of plants for food, medicine and raw materials. These resources were brought with them into newly colonized areas, and new plants were continually adopted for use, enabling the Guaraní to create settlements and manage the plants and animals within some very different ecosystems. These practices provided them with food security and eventually led to the modification of the vegetation in these landscapes by their activities.

本文介绍了巴西南部和拉普拉塔河盆地的瓜拉尼土著人民管理环境资源的一些主要方面。利用自公元 16 世纪以来不同作者提供的广泛的跨学科数据库，我们认为瓜拉尼人将他们特定生活方式的知识系统传给了几代人，这些知识系统始于他们起源的亚马逊地区。这个系统基于他们物质文化的形式和功能，以及他们对周围环境的知识，包括那里的植物和动物，以及他们的实践。他们的生存基于长期种植和管理各种用于食品、药物和原材料的植物。这些资源被带到新的殖民地区，新植物不断被采用，使瓜拉尼人能够在一些非常不同的生态系统中建立定居点并管理植物和动物。这些做法为他们提供了粮食安全，并最终导致他们的活动改变了这些景观中的植被。