MATERIALS & METHODS
Population and location
All samples were collected in the Cross-Cutucu region of the neo-tropical lowlands of ´
southeastern Ecuador, which lies east of the Cutucu Mountains along the Morona river ´
drainage. This region has an annual rainfall of more than 4,000 mm (158 inches) and
average daytime temperatures of 29 ◦C (85 ◦F) (Kricher, 1999).
The Shuar of this region are an indigenous forager-horticulturalist group who live
primarily in small riverine villages. They are a natural fertility population and traditionally
lived in scattered matrilocal household clusters in traditional thatch-wall, earthen-floor
houses (Karsten, 1935; Descola, 1996; Rubenstein, 2001), although plank houses with tin
roofs are becoming more common. Present day subsistence remains based on horticulture,
fishing, hunting and gathering, yet they are currently experiencing increasingly rapid
infrastructure development and market integration as a result of regional economic