"In this insightful book, Rostain (director of research, CNRS, France) provides a new contribution with a rich perspective on how American Indians modified their landscape to increase food production and maintain high populations in the Guiana region. He presents an extensive review of different forms of earthworks in the New World and other parts of the world with an innovative taxonomy and detailed description of all the known types of earth modifications. This is clearly a synthesis of 25 years of fieldwork that is not only archaeological, but truly multidisciplinary research including ethnological, ecological, botanical, historical, and geological information. The author also provides an ethnoecological analysis and critical interpretation of these anthropogenic landscapes, shading many misconceptions about the Guianan and Amazonian Indians. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." --CHOICE.