O habitat Caipira e o cultivo do milho no Alto Vale do Paraíba

Abstract

The natural landscape of the Upper Paraíba Valley in southeastern Brazil is composed of small hills, rivers, streams and a few remaining fragments of Atlantic forest, which once covered all its territory. During the period of gold mining, pathways induced the formation of cities currently preserved as material heritage of the colonial Brazil. With the decline of gold, these cities became the nucleus of a subsistence culture that occurred within the forests. This culture, called Caipira, has its origins in Portuguese and Indian miscegenation and its characteristics include planting the cornfields, tools, techniques, traditions, architecture, spatial organization and above all, a close link with the natural elements of the Upper Paraiba Valley.