Since the discovery of the "New World", Indian societies have been fighting the process of cultural alienation. Some have managed to preserve their identity while others have successfully come to terms with what is new. Representative of these cultures are the societies living between the Upper Orinoco in Venezuela and the Parima Mountain Range. This is the region of the legendary Lake Parima where "El Dorado" - the golden man - was said to have lived. In the 1950s Edgardo Gonzalez Niño lived among the Amazon Indians and gathered examples of these cultures. On the Upper Orinoco and in its catchment area, he collected over a thousand objects which, a few years ago, were acquired by the Fundación Cisneros in Caracas. The collection contains masks, ritual objects as used by shamans, ornaments, feather decorations, cooking utensils and weapons. This volume with essays by acknowledged experts, an interview with Edgardo Gonzalez Niño gives an excellent insight into the material culture of twelve Indian ethnic groups. It demonstrates how closely their material culture is connected with the spiritual life of the Indians. (German edition available ISBN 3-7757-0872-3)