Contenido: Acknowledgements -- Abstract -- Introduction -- Hypotheses -- Objectives -- Outline of Thesis -- Indigenous Agriculture and Agricultural knowledge -- Soil Limitations and Temperate Agriculture -- New emph ases on Indigenous Agriculture -- Characteristics of Indigenous Agriculture in the Amazon -- Ethnopedology -- Previus Research Among the Chimane Summary and Conclusions -- Natural and socieconomic Environment -- The Naturlas Environment -- Geology -- Hydrology -- Climate -- Soils -- Flora and Biogeography -- Cultural and Socieconomic Environments -- Chimane Social Organization -- Chimane sudsistence -- Economic History of the Beni departament -- Indigenous Land Petitioning in the Chimane -- Forest -- The Beni Biosphere Reserve -- Chimane Settlements in the BBR -- Chimane Agriculture -- Chimane Farming System -- Housegardens -- Agricultural Fields -- Site Selection -- Agricultural Cycle -- Crop Rotation -- Producction -- Agricultural Participation in the Regional Market -- Life Cycle -- characteristic of Agriculture in Different -- Settlements of the BBR -- Chimane Soil Clasification and Agricultural Soils -- Chimane soil taxonomy -- Variation in the Individual Use of Chimane Soil -- Clasification -- Chemical and Physical Characteteristic of Chimane Soil Categories -- USDA Soil Taxonomomy of Chimane Agricultural Soils -- Cropping Choices and Chimane Soil Categories -- Soil Fertility and Chimane Soil Categories -- Rice -- Maize -- Manioc -- Plantain -- Conclusions and Recommendations.