Settlement and occupation of the Selva Central of Peru. The conquest of the Ashaninka territories

Abstract

This document presents an overview of the Selva Central historical settlement and occupation process on the Selva Central (territory located between 10 ° and 14° south latitude and meridians 72° and 76°- West from Greenwich- covering an area of 100 000 square kilometers). This territory was traditionally occupied by Ashaninka people, the largest group of indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon, with a population estimate of more than 52 000 people. The Ashaninka communities are in the valleys of the Apurímac, Ene, Tambo, Alto Ucayali, Bajo Urubamba, Perené and Pichis rivers, in the provinces of Chanchamayo, Satipo, Oxapampa and in the Great Pajonal Plateau.

The purpose of this article is to present, to the reader interested in the Ashaninka people, an historical view about how this people settled down in Amazonian territory and how they have lost lands due to constant contact with white and mestizo civilization.