A common piece of pottery found on this island is a type of pubic cover called a “tanga,” whose depiction of stylized female genitalia has been thought to suggest a matriarchal society. In the 1980s, this island’s tesos were revealed to have been domestic occupations, not just ceremonial sites, by an archaeologist who argued that complex societies could have existed in regions with (*) terra firme soil. Earlier studies of this island’s civilization were heavily influenced by the “Environmental Limitation Hypothesis” of archaeologist Betty Meggers, who argued that the poor soil of the region created a “counterfeit paradise” and debated Anna Curtenius Roosevelt over the nature of this island’s civilization. Generations of archaeologists have debated whether this island’s mound-building society disproves the “pristine myth” of the Amazon. For 10 points, name this largest island on the Amazon delta. ■END■
ANSWER: Marajó (“mah-rah-ZHAW”) Island [accept Marajoara culture]
<Corry Wang, Social Science>
= Average correct buzz position